Sir Alex Ferguson’s reaction to a former Manchester United-linked player who completed a move to another major Premier League club spoke volumes.
The 84-year-old former Manchester United manager ushered in a period of incredible dominance over English football during his remarkable reign at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson engineered all 13 of the Red Devils’ Premier League title wins and led United to a famous continental treble win in the 1998-99 season at the club.
The iconic Scotsman stepped down as Red Devils boss at the end of the 2012-13 campaign after Man Utd’s last Premier League title win under his reign.
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Samir Nasri reveals that he contacted Sir Alex Ferguson after he decided to sign for Man City instead of Man Utd
During the tail end of his legendary Manchester United tenure, Sir Alex Ferguson had shown an interest in bringing former Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri to Old Trafford.
Samir Nasri had been a key player for legendary ex-Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, but the 39-year-old Frenchman had shown his intention to leave the Gunners.
Manchester City paid a reported £25m to Arsenal to sign former France international Nasri in 2011, despite Man Utd also showing an interest in him at the time.
Speaking to CANAL+ Sport, Nasri revealed that Ferguson did not speak with him after he contacted the United legend about his Man City decision in 2011.
“I told my agent, and my agent said it would be the right thing to tell him personally,” he said.
“So, I called him. I actually called him with my number hidden because I thought he probably wouldn’t answer.
“I left him a voicemail saying, ‘Coach, I’m really sorry. Thank you for the conversation we had, but I’ve made my decision. I’m going to City,’ and I explained my reasons.
“He never replied.”
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Samir Nasri explains Sir Alex Ferguson’s plans for him if he had left Arsenal for Man Utd in 2011
Samir Nasri made 176 appearances for City and the former Gunners midfielder netted 27 times and registered 39 assists for Man Utd’s crosstown rivals.
The former Marseille and Antalyaspor player revealed that Ferguson had told him that he would be playing a starring role for the Red Devils if he had signed for them.
“I was an Arsenal player, and I was due to play for Arsenal about 10 days later,” Nasri said.
“We’d rented an apartment so we could meet discreetly, without being seen at a hotel by journalists or anyone else.
“We met there. He came with a well-known Italian agent, and we talked about the following season and what he was planning.
“He said he was going to retire. Well, he said he was stopping then, although he later changed his mind again.”
The former Man City star added: “He told me he wanted to use me in central midfield. We had a really good conversation.
“At first, it was a little difficult to understand him because of his accent, but in the end, we got on well.
“It didn’t happen, though. There were a lot of twists and turns. We spoke again because the move to City almost collapsed.
“At one point, I said, ‘OK, I’m coming.’ But then things came back together with City. Today, I think if he saw me, he’d probably grab me by the hair if he could.”
Nasri lifted two Premier League titles and a League Cup with Man City before he left the Etihad and moved to Turkish side Antalyaspor in 2017.
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