Rio Ferdinand has revealed that he was close to convincing Luka Modric to sign for Manchester United instead of Real Madrid, but that the club hierarchy had already agreed a deal for another player.
The Croatian left Tottenham Hotspur to join Los Blancos in the summer of 2012, with the midfielder going on to enjoy a distinguished career in Spain. The 37-year-old, who has won five Champions League titles with Madrid, was named Ballon d'Or winner in 2018.
However, things could have been very different for Modric - with Ferdinand admitting that he tried to entice the superstar to Old Trafford, even though Spurs always planned to sell him abroad.
ALSO READ: Man United injury round-up ahead of Burnley clash including Dalot latest
Despite the former England defender's best efforts, Sir Alex Ferguson opted to sign midfielder Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund instead.
DON'T MISS:Erik ten Hag has already vindicated risky January signing at Manchester United
'Painful and I expected more' - Ander Herrera reduced to tears about his Manchester United exit
Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez confirms plan if Argentina win World Cup final vs France
Talking about Modric on his FIVE YouTube show, Ferdinand said: "I spoke to him before he went to Real Madrid, because that’s what I used to do, I was the player agent, I was agent Rio before I retired. Any player that was available or was coming up I used to think that I could somehow get into them.
"Even Thiago Alcantara at Liverpool, I spoke to him before he left Barcelona to go to Bayern Munich and that almost happened but we signed [Marouane] Fellaini instead. But Modric, I remember speaking to him, I said, 'Are you leaving [Tottenham]?' and he said, 'Yeah, I think I’m going to go' but he wasn’t sure at the time where he was going.
"I said, 'Listen, you’ve got to come to United, man' and he said, 'Yeah, listen, I want to be the first Croatian to play for Man United, I want to be that guy, can we make it happen?'
"But it didn’t happen. I spoke to David Gill and the manager [Sir Alex] at the time had already agreed with Shinji Kagawa I think it was – I think that was the year, I’m sure it was.
"Or they already had irons in the fire with another player and they did that deal and then Modric went to Madrid and the rest is history. But I never imagined he’d go on to do what he’s done. What a player!"
Kagawa joined United for £17million, with the deal being agreed towards the end of the 2011/12 campaign. His move was announced at the start of June, with the player making just 57 appearances for the Reds. He did, however, win the Premier League title in 2013.
Meanwhile, Modric moved to Madrid for £30m in August of that summer. The midfielder has won a total of 21 trophies with Los Blancos during his time in Spain, as well as several individual accolades.
READ NEXT:
- All the latest Man United news, views and gossip
- United release update on Carabao Cup tickets
- Ronaldo was right about United defender in interview
- United forgotten man could be handed his Ten Hag debut
- Ronaldo has done United a favour with their squad rebuild
