Manchester United have a history of high-profile transfer misses, including future Ballon d'Or winners and World Cup champions. Michael Carrick is working hard on summer deals, having secured Andrey Santos, Karl Darlow, and Youri Tielemans, but talks with Atalanta's Ederson stalled due to knee issues. Here are five notable players who slipped through United's fingers.
Ronaldinho
In 2003, United were close to signing Ronaldinho from Paris Saint-Germain for £9 million as a replacement for David Beckham. The Brazilian had 44 goal contributions in 77 games for PSG. Barcelona, however, swooped in and signed him for £25.5 million after Real Madrid secured Beckham. United were "99.9% certain" of the deal, according to sources. Ronaldinho went on to win the Ballon d'Or in 2005 and the World Cup in 2002.
John Obi Mikel
John Obi Mikel had a pre-contract with United and met Sir Alex Ferguson, but Chelsea intervened. Speaking on TNT Sports' What I Wore, the Champions League winner said: "My first trial was with Manchester United... I signed the contract. But Chelsea had sent me to Norway... they refused to let it go." FIFA and the English FA got involved, and after a meeting with Ferguson, Mikel chose Chelsea, where he won the Champions League in 2012.
Toni Kroos
Toni Kroos verbally agreed to join United from Bayern Munich in 2013 under David Moyes. Moyes told talkSPORT in 2018: "Toni Kroos had agreed to come to Manchester United with me. I met him and his wife and we agreed it all." Kroos stayed at Bayern for another season before moving to Real Madrid, where he won five Champions League titles and the 2014 World Cup with Germany.
Paulo Dybala
In 2019, United attempted a swap deal with Juventus involving Romelu Lukaku and Paulo Dybala. Reports from Italy indicated an agreement, but Dybala decided to stay. He won 11 major honours with Juventus, including Serie A titles, and was part of Argentina's 2022 World Cup-winning squad. He now plays for Roma.
Alan Shearer
In 1996, Alan Shearer chose Newcastle over United after meeting both Kevin Keegan and Sir Alex Ferguson. On The Rest is Football podcast in 2023, Shearer recalled: "I had the choice between Newcastle and Man United... Sir Alex said, 'Am I meeting you first or second?' I said I'd just met Kevin... he said, 'That's me f*****, I've got no chance.'" Shearer initially decided on United and went house hunting, but a call from Keegan changed his mind. He signed for Newcastle, becoming the Premier League's all-time top scorer with 260 goals.
