290-goal forward who Sir Alex Ferguson would have ‘gone mad for’ admits he came close to joining Man United

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One former Italian icon has revealed that he came close to joining Manchester United and Newcastle United during his career.

Under Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United dominated the Premier League during the 1990s and the 2010s but the Scotsman had a few near misses during his career at Old Trafford in terms of transfer targets who came close to moving to Manchester.

Brazilian legend Ronaldinho is perhaps the most famous example with the former Paris Saint-Germain star opting for a move to Barcelona over Old Trafford.

It has now emerged that another footballing icon came close to moving to Old Trafford and this one will be a surprise to many.

Italian icon on nearly moving to United

Speaking to talkSPORT, Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero has revealed that he came close to a move to United and Newcastle United, too.

“Yeah, it happened with Newcastle and Man United,” Del Piero explained. “It didn’t happen in the end because I was captain of Juve and happy at Juve and for me it was everything. I was a Juventus fan from the beginning when I was a young kid.

“I wasn’t looking for more money or more things – they gave me good money in Turin and I became captain and stayed 19 years going through everything from paradise to hell and I’m happy about that.

“It’s a unique story and a unique journey. Of course I would have loved to have had the chance to play here (in England) because I always enjoyed playing here, but it didn’t happen.”

United’s pursuit of Del Piero came in 2006 during the Calciopoli scandal which saw Juventus relegated to Serie B.

Ferguson on Del Piero

Ferguson has admitted previously that the Juventus player was certainly one that he wanted at Old Trafford.

“Del Piero is the only one who I would’ve gone mad for,” Ferguson told Inside Sport about the Italian maestro back in 2021.

During Del Piero’s 705 games for the Italian side, he scored 290 goals and provided 172 assists in a glittering career. Del Piero is certainly one that got away for Ferguson.