EDGAR DAVIDS revealed he almost joined Manchester United after meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson in 1996.
Davids, 51, enjoyed tremendous success playing for the likes of Ajax, where he won the Champions League and the Eredivisie, as well as Juventus, where he won three Serie A titles.
However, the former midfielder’s career could have looked a lot different if he accepted Ferguson‘s offer to join him at United just three years before the legendary Treble triumph.
The Dutchman revealed he had a “charming” conversation with Sir Alex but opted for AC Milan as that was there the “bog boys” played back in the day.
And the Netherlands great insists he has no regrets despite United‘s tremendous success under Fergie until 2013.
Davids told BetMGM: “When I left Ajax in 1996 there was a good chance of me going to Manchester United.
“I had a conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson and it was one of the most unbelievable experiences I had in my whole career. He was funny, charming, intelligent — basically everything you wanted.
“The big boys were in Serie A and that’s where I wanted to go at that time of my career. That was the main reason why I chose to go to AC Milan.
“I don’t regret not going to Manchester United. I’ve seen Sir Alex since and we had a good laugh about it all and there are still the same good feelings between us.”
Davids did ultimately make the move to England nine years later as he played for Tottenham until 2007 before a short stint with Crystal Palace in 2010.
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The ex-Barcelona star then turned into an EFL cult hero two years later as he took over as player-manager at Barnet in League Two, where he amassed 38 appearances until his retirement in 2014.
Davids is now pursuing a career in management and currently works as Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman’s assistant.
The ex-Inter Milan star revealed he cut his teeth learning under current United boss Erik ten Hag during his time in charge of Utrecht.
The Juventus legend insists Ten Hag is a remarkable manager and hinted that the Red Devils’ troubles are caused by a lack of firepower up front.
Davids added: “I know him [Ten Hag] very well. I did an internship at FC Utrecht and he was there.
“He was very innovative with lots of different things and I was very impressed. He’s very focused and passionate about football.
“We all know it hasn’t gone great at Manchester United. They are a club trying to rebuild and that’s never easy — but I do look at their options up front and think there’s not a prolific goalscorer there which makes such a difference.
“For me, that’s what they are really missing. Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee are good, young strikers and have talent but they don’t have that experience yet.
“It’s so hard to say if he’s going to stay but the one thing you do know is, just like Real Madrid, results are what you are judged on and they clearly haven’t been nearly good enough while he’s been in charge.”
Ten Hag’s Man Utd signings
The Dutchman has brought in 21 players since moving to Old Trafford in 2022
2022-23:
Antony, (Ajax) £86m
Casemiro, (Real Madrid) £70m
Lisandro Martinez, (Ajax) £46m
Tyrell Malacia, (Feyenoord) £13m
Christian Eriksen, (Brentford) free
Martin Dubravka, (Newcastle) loan
Wout Weghorst, (Burnley) loan
Jack Butland, (Crystal Palace) loan
Marcel Sabitzer, (Bayern Munich) loan
2023-24:
Rasmus Hojlund, (Atalanta) £72m
Mason Mount, (Chelsea) £60m
Andre Onana, (Inter Milan) £47m
Sofyan Amrabat, (Fiorentina) loan
Altay Bayindir, (Fenerbahce) £4.3m
Jonny Evans, (Leicester) free
Sergio Reguilon, (Tottenham) loan
2024-25:
Leny Yoro, (Lille) £52m
Manuel Ugarte, (Paris Saint-Germain) £50m
Matthijs de Ligt, (Bayern Munich) £45m
Joshua Zirkee, (Bologna) £36.5m
Noussair Mazraoui, (Bayern Munich) £12.8m
