De Jong and six big stars who rejected Man Utd

12 Jul 2022 19:54 BST
4 min read

Frenkie de Jong, Netherlands, 2022 — © ProShots

Frenkie de Jong could turn down a move to Manchester United as he fights to stay at Barcelona despite the two clubs being close to agreeing a deal worth €85 million.

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De Jong is said to be uncertain over joining United due to them failing to qualify for Champions League football next season and could remain at Barca due to being owed more than €20m in unpaid wages.

Should the Dutchman reject United, he would join a long list of high-profile players who had the opportunity to join the Red Devils only to decide against it and FootballTransfers takes a look at some of those names.

Gareth Bale

Former United boss David Moyes revealed that he was desperate to make Gareth Bale his first signing at the club when the Welshman departed Tottenham in 2013.

According to the current West Ham manager, United offered more money than Real Madrid but the Spanish side were already in advanced negotiations to sign the forward.

Moyes said: “We even had a helicopter at the training ground to take him and bring him back. We thought we had a chance. But he chose Real Madrid and he made a brilliant decision because he went on to win four Champions Leagues.”

N’Golo Kante

Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante revealed he turned down an approach from Jose Mourinho to bring him to United after he decided to leave Leicester in 2016.

"It was amazing to have Mourinho call me, even though I’d been warned before how he would appeal to me," Kante explained. "I listened to his arguments about why I should move to United but at that time I was hesitant between staying at Leicester or leaving for Chelsea.”

In the end, Kante opted to join Antonio Conte at Chelsea and he is still playing for the Blues now, having won six trophies with them, vindicating his choice.

Alan Shearer

United have never quite gotten over being rejected by Alan Shearer after he opted to join his boyhood club Newcastle in 1996 in a world-record deal.

Shearer had previously turned down a move to Old Trafford in 1992 in order to join Blackburn, where he scored 112 goals in 138 games en route to winning the Premier League.

And, despite a visit to Sir Alex Ferguson’s house to seal the deal, Shearer rejected the chance to win trophies at United, instead signing for Newcastle, where he went onto become their record goal scorer.

Ronaldinho

Having sold David Beckham to Real Madrid in 2003, United had lined up Paris Saint-Germain superstar Ronaldinho as a replacement in a £25 million move.

Barca had been in the race to sign Beckham but moved for Ronaldinho after he promised his ‘good friend’ Sandro Rosell he would sign for them if his team won the presidential election.

Rosell ended up winning as part of Joan Laporta’s bid and Ronaldinho joined Barca at the last minute despite admitting he was ‘on the brink’ of signing for United.

Jude Bellingham

United were one of many sides interested in Jude Bellingham when the then-teenage sensation left Birmingham City in 2020.

The England international had been given a personal tour by Ferguson of the club’s training facilities but Bellingham chose Dortmund as he felt the German side represented the best project for him.

Speaking about the move, Bellingham said: “Well, you know, Man United have a great squad but my decision had nothing to do with Man United. For me, it was Borussia Dortmund and that’s it.”

Sadio Mane

Another player who felt there was a better project out there for him was Sadio Mane, as the Senegalese international turned down United for Liverpool when leaving Southampton in 2016.

“They made an offer, but in the same week, Klopp called me. He said: ‘I think it’s the right club,'” Mane stated in 2019.

“The right coach for me, and I think it’s better that I go to Liverpool. For me I think it was the right time as well. I said, ‘I am going to Liverpool.’