How Robert Lewandowski almost signed for Man Utd instead of Robin van Persie in 2012 after secret Fergie calls
ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI almost signed for Manchester United in 2012 but Borussia Dortmund’s unwillingness to sell saw Sir Alex Ferguson sign Robin van Persie instead.
The Bayern Munich forward revealed he had spoke to Ferguson about a potential move but Dortmund were not interested in a deal.
Lewandowski, 31, told The Guardian: “I was speaking with him after two years at Dortmund and at that time I was really thinking about a move to Manchester United.
“Because of Ferguson and because of Manchester United.
“Borussia Dortmund said: ‘No, that’s that.’
“That was the first time I was thinking about the move because if you get a phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson, for a young player it was something amazing.
“That was a special day for me.”
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Ferguson then sign van Persie instead, a decision that would work out well with the Dutchman winning the Premier League and finishing as top scorer in the league with 26 goals.
After three seasons at Old Trafford, van Persie scored 58 goals before moving to Turkish side Fenerbahce.
Lewandowski did move in 2014, to Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich and has been one of the world’s best strikers since.
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The Polish international has scored 229 goals in all competitions since joining Munich and has won five Bundesliga titles in the process.
Lewandowski added two more to his goal tally, making it 25 for the season in the league, as Hansi Flick’s side scraped past bottom side Paderborn 3-2 last night.
Munich are four points clear of RB Leipzig in second but that gap could be cut to just one point if Julian Nagelsmann’s side beat Schalke today.