Gary Neville insists Manchester United can still attract the world’s biggest stars – despite Matthijs de Ligt’s impending move to Barcelona.
Man Utd are convinced the Ajax defender is on his way to Camp Nou, despite interest from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
But Neville has brushed off the prospect of missing out on the most sought-after centre back in Europe – saying even Sir Alex Ferguson missed out on big names during the club’s glory years.
“The money in the game now means you're always in competition,” he said. “The club has lost players when it was successful to Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. We lost (Arjen) Robben to Chelsea in the mid 2000s, we lost (Samir) Nasri to City. Don't always think that when Sir Alex Ferguson was here it didn't happen.
“This club lost players when it was successful to some of the biggest clubs in Europe that are competing with United.
“Don't think that if United lose players now to Barcelona that this is the first time it's ever happened, it's happened before.
“It's not because of the current plight, or the coach, or the manager, or the current players it just happens sometimes. It happened during successful times too.”
Solskjaer is pursuing some of Britain’s best emerging talent in Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Daniel James and Sean Longstaff this summer after urging Ed Woodward to move away from the model of targeting marquee signings.
But Neville is convinced Old Trafford remains appealing to star names.
“I think United can still attract top end players because we've seen good players come to the club over the last six or seven years,” he added. “This club will never move away from being a sensational football club, it will have difficult moments. And, it's having a difficult time.
“This summer obviously is a big one, Ole needs to rest himself now, but then hopefully the team, the coach, the fans can have a great season next year.
“That’s what every Manchester United fan hopes for. It’s an amazing football club, and this football club will never change. It will have bad moments, it will have good moments, it will have difficult moments, it will have tragedy. But it will always be a big football club, a huge football club that is magic and we should never forget that.”
