Seven footballers who joined Christian Eriksen in snubbing a move to Manchester United
Christian Eriksen is the latest player to reject an Old Trafford move, with the Denmark international reportedly turning down a contract from the Red Devils this summer. He's not the first...
Manchester United have often found themselves at the top of the food chain in European football.
The Red Devils enjoyed bucketloads of success under Sir Alex Ferguson, and alongside that were usually able to cherry-pick the cream of world talent.
But while the opportunity to play for United was the dream for so many, very occasionally a world-class star would slam the door shut in their face and opt for a move elsewhere.
Christian Eriksen did just that this summer, with the former Tottenham man snubbing a contract offer from the Red Devils despite his spell at Brentford coming to an end.
It's much easier to do that since United's decline, of course. But here are seven other stars who turned down a move to Old Trafford - and not all of them when the club were in the doldrums.
Darwin Nunez
You only have to go back a few weeks to find another Manchester United target that rejected their approach.
Benfica striker Darwin Nunez had a host of clubs fighting for his signature this summer, but the two sides leading the race were historic rivals Liverpool and Manchester United.
Gareth Bale
During his Tottenham years, Gareth Bale found his way into every scout's notebook across Europe.
Eventually, Real Madrid's world record offer of £85.1miliion saw Bale become a Galactico, and it seems he made the right choice - the Welshman went on to win five Champions League titles in Spain, while United have gone through the same amount of managers in that time.
Eden Hazard
Back in 2012, Hazard caught the eye after helping Lille to a league title in 2010/11. In particular, the talented Belgian drew a lot of attention from Premier League sides.
Chelsea were fresh from their Champions League triumph, and were cementing their status as a powerhouse in European football.
We'll never know what would've happened had Hazard joined United, but he earned himself two Premier League titles with the Blues before making a big-money move to Real Madrid in 2019.
Patrick Kluivert
181 G/A in 257 games for Barcelona, 68 G/A in 100 games for Ajax. 47 G/A in 79 games for The Netherlands. Eredivisie winner, La Liga winner, Champions League winner.
— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) July 1, 2021
Happy 45th birthday to Patrick Kluivert! 🇳🇱👏 pic.twitter.com/j1EVeDXz92
Ronaldinho
United came within touching distance of signing Ronaldinho, only for an election to stand in their way.
Ronaldinho's two years at Paris Saint-Germain made it abundantly clear that he was destined to be world class, and Barcelona immediately highlighted him as a transfer target. United had too, with Ferguson a big admirer.
The Red Devils inched closer to sealing the move, but in a dramatic saga of twists and turns, Ronaldinho instead chose Barcelona. It followed a call from a friend on the Spanish side's board, who revealed he was set to be appointed vice-president if Joan Laporta won the club's presidential election.
Paul Gascoigne
England icon Paul Gascoigne was at the peak of his powers in 1988 and was ready to take a step up from boyhood club Newcastle United.
But 'Gazza' ended up opting for a move to Tottenham instead, and he later explained his reasoning.
Alan Shearer
Perhaps the highest-profile rejection Manchester United suffered was Alan Shearer, who turned down a move to Old Trafford not once, but twice.
After starting his career at Southampton, Shearer chose Blackburn over United and ended up winning the Premier League. He scored 112 goals in 138 appearances for Rovers before deciding on a move away in 1996.
Manchester United were once again interested in Shearer, but so too were his boyhood club, Newcastle United.
He was never able to lift the league title with Newcastle, something that would have been a guarantee at United. But he can point to being the Premier League's top goalscorer of all time with 260 goals, all while becoming a cult hero on Tyneside.