A former Manchester United player under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford has now opened up on what “impacted” him the most during his disappointing spell.
Sir Alex Ferguson saw both the highs and the lows during his time in the transfer market when he was Manchester United manager at the Premier League club.
The 83-year-old Scotsman was often held in high regard for bringing the best in class to Old Trafford, including the likes of Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ferguson also endured flop players during his illustrious 26-year reign at Old Trafford, ranging from the likes of Bebe to Kleberson to Eric Djemba-Djemba.
The United legend is widely regarded as one of the best managers of all time and Ferguson enjoyed an incredible silverware haul as head coach of the Red Devils.
Ferguson led United to their famous treble win in the 1998-99 campaign and the iconic Scot also engineered all 13 of the Red Devils’ Premier League title wins.
Owen Hargreaves’ spell at Man Utd under Sir Alex Ferguson and how another club tried to sign him after his contract expired
Manchester United made a move for Owen Hargreaves in 2007 and the Red Devils signed him from Bayern Munich for a transfer fee believed to be £17m.
Hargreaves enjoyed success during his time with Bayern Munich, including lifting four Bundesliga titles, a Champions League trophy and three German Cups.
However, the 44-year-old former United and Bayern midfielder’s spell at Old Trafford was curtailed by injuries and Hargreaves left the club as a free agent in 2011.
Hargreaves has said that he “came close to signing” for West Brom, but a “clause made it impossible” for him to move to the club after his injury-hit United spell.
“I was released by Manchester United in 2011,” he told FourFourTwo magazine.
“I was out of contract – I would never have dreamt of leaving as I loved my time there. But they grew tired of my injury issues and let me go. It was devastating.
“I came close to signing for West Brom on a free transfer but, right after agreeing [on] everything, they wanted to insert an extra clause in my contract that I didn’t agree with.
“I spoke to the manager, Roy Hodgson, and he agreed that the clause made it impossible for me to sign, which he was disappointed about as he really wanted me. So, I had to look elsewhere.”
Ex-Man Utd star Owen Hargreaves sets the record straight with ‘peak’ comment after his spell under Sir Alex Ferguson
Owen Hargreaves only managed 39 appearances during his injury-hit United spell and the former England international scored twice and registered two assists.
The TNT Sports pundit left the Premier League club and completed a shock free transfer move to United’s crosstown rivals Manchester City for a brief spell.
Hargreaves has hit back at the criticism that he received over what happened to him at United and insisted that his injuries cost him reaching the “peak” of his powers.
The ex-Bayern star said: “Do I wish I could have stayed at United, kept fit and helped them to win another Premier League or Champions League title?
“Of course, I do. People have made jibes at me about what happened at United; they forget that the person those injuries impacted most was me.
“They cost me my career, when I should have been at my peak.”
Hargreaves lifted both the Premier League title and the Champions League trophy under legendary former Aberdeen and United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
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