Manchester United were once thwarted in their attempts to sign now-current Cardiff City midfielder Aaron Ramsey.
The deal was so far down the line that Manchester United confirmed the deal had been agreed on their website in 2009 before they took down the post.
Instead, the Welsh midfielder decided to reject United’s, and indeed Sir Alex Ferguson’s, advances and instead moved to Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.
The Welsh midfielder became a cult hero at the Emirates Stadium before eventually moving on in the summer of 2019 when he moved to Italian giants Juventus.
Well, years after he seemingly turned down United, the midfielder has finally revealed the reason behind that decision.
Ramsey on ‘mad’ Ferguson call
Speaking to FourFourTwo, the Welsh midfielder, who has had a spell in France with OGC Nice before returning to Cardiff, opened up about that decision he made when he was still just a teenager.
“I was always a Cardiff supporter, but my dad was a Manchester United fan and I watched them quite a lot with him,” Ramsey said.
“It was a strange time in my life, to have two teams I’d watched so much as a child showing interest in me.
“I spoke to both managers on the phone a few times. I was 17 years old and I was getting voicemails from Fergie and Arsene Wenger! It was mad.
“Arsenal felt like the right decision for me. I remember showing up to training on my first day and seeing Kolo Toure, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor, William Gallas… I had to pinch myself. I was like, ‘What on Earth am I doing here?’ It was an exciting time for me.”
Ramsey was ‘the one that got away’
Not often do players turn down the overtures of the famous Scottish boss and the former United boss, now 81, revealed in 2014, according to The Mirror, that Ramsey was the “one that got away”.
The Welsh midfielder went on to score 64 goals and provide 66 assists for the Gunners in 369 appearances before leaving for Italy.
Ramsey can be added to the illustrious list of names that got away from Ferguson during his time in Manchester.
Alan Shearer, Brazilian legend Ronaldinho and Gareth Bale are just some of the other names who have turned down the Scot in the past.
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