Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has revealed how close he was to joining arch-rivals Manchester United before eventually moving to Anfield.
Having starred for Nottingham Forest, Collymore joined Liverpool in the summer of 1995 after Roy Evans' Reds held off competition from neighbours Everton and Newcastle United.
The Staffordshire-born forward arrived for a then club record £8.5million transfer fee to playing alongside Robbie Fowler and Ian Rush. Collymore wasted no time impressing Liverpool supporters, scoring a 20-yard curler on his debut against Sheffield Wednesday, but had it not been for the blistering goal-scoring form of Newcastle's Andy Cole, he would almost certainly have ended up a Manchester United player.
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Speaking on the Lifting the Lid podcast, Collymore said: "I'm under contract with Nottingham Forest - 'Alright big man. It's Fergie. Alex Ferguson.' I'm like, 'is this a wind-up?' And he said 'We'd love you to come (to Manchester United). Be patient, it will happen.'
"On the back of the Nottingham Post it says 'This week Stan Collymore will sign for Manchester United'. Then I didn't hear from (Paul) Stretford for about five days, which was very unusual because he was my agent. So then I turn on Sky Sports News... Breaking news - Andy Cole signs for Manchester United.
"The story I was told was, Fergie called Kevin Keegan about Keith Gillespie. Keegan wanted Gillespie and at the end of the conversation, Fergie said 'I thought I'd just ask him about Andy Cole' expecting him to turn around and tell him to get lost. Keegan went quiet for about four seconds and Fergie said 'I knew I had him'.
"I was devastated. Paul Stretford eventually called me. After a few expletives were exchanged, he just turned around and said 'I'll get you Liverpool'."
Despite his disappointed at the move to Old Trafford collapsing, Collymore made a positive start to his career at Anfield, forming a formidable strike partnership with Robbie Fowler. He would go on to write his own piece of history by scoring the injury time winner at the Kop end in Liverpool's titanic 4-3 victory against Keegan's Newcastle in a epic match that was to be later declared the Premier League match of the decade.
But while Cole went on to make 276 appearances for United, scoring 121 goals and winning nine major trophies including five league titles and the Champions League, Collymore struggled to maintain consistency in his game for the Reds and after manager Evans finally ran out of patience with him, he was sold to Aston Villa for £7million at the end of the 96/97 season.
Collymore made 84 appearances in all competitions for the Reds, scoring 37 goals but did not win any trophies in his time on Merseyside.
