Sir Alex Ferguson consulted players before signing Louis Saha

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson consulted with his players before signing Louis Saha, according to Gary Neville (h/t Mirror).

The legendary Scotsman had a rule of not asking any of his squad members about players he wanted to sign. However, Neville has revealed that the boss broke that rule in the case of Louis Saha.

“After we played Fulham one time in the FA Cup (in 2001), he actually asked us as defenders, would we sign Louis Saha? We all said ‘yes’ straight away.”

Saha joined Manchester United from Fulham in January 2004 in a £12.8m deal. The Frenchman spent over four years at Old Trafford, making 124 appearances, in which he netted 42 goals.

During his time with our club, the former France international won two Premier League titles and a League Cup. Saha was also a part of the squad that won the UEFA Champions League in 2007/08.

The centre-forward formed a formidable partnership with the likes of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo during his stint at Old Trafford.

Neville was profuse in his praise of the Frenchman with Rooney, especially in 2006 when the pair thrived. The former Manchester United right-back also alluded to the fact that he struggled to play against Saha when the latter was still at Fulham (h/t Mirror).

Saha had recently spoken about his first conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson prior to his switch to Manchester United (h/t MEN).

“The way he talks, you really have that voice where – even if you only understand half of it – it reassures you.”

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After leaving Manchester United, Saha joined Everton before having stints at Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth and Lazio. The Frenchman eventually hung up his boots in 2013.

Although Saha struggled with injuries throughout his spell with us, the Frenchman’s stint was short and memorable.