Robert Lewandowski reveals he was keen to join Manchester United
According to France Football (h/t The Daily Mail), Manchester United came very close to landing Polish hitman Robert Lewandowski when he was still with Borussia Dortmund in 2012.
The 32-year-old is one of the best players in the world and was awarded the Best FIFA Men’s Player award for 2020. (h/t FIFA)
Having established himself as a player to watch out for at Signal Iduna Park, Lewandowski was on the radar of Europe’s top clubs. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, it would appear United were on the verge of landing him.
“After my second year in Dortmund, I had a conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson. He wanted me to come to Manchester.”
Ferguson personally reached out to the player in an effort to arrange the transfer. Lewandowski for his part was ready to move. It is tempting to think what might have been had it gone through.
Instead, Dortmund rejected United’s advances and the player stayed put. The player was coming along well under Jurgen Klopp in Germany and he was only pleased to stay put.
“I was very interested. I can even say I was ready. But Dortmund didn’t want to let me go.”
United eventually went on to sign Arsenal striker Robin van Persie. The Dutchman played a prolific role in our last Premier League title under Ferguson.
While Van Persie was an instant hit, the Dutchman was never going to be a long-term solution. He would go on to struggle once Ferguson left the club in 2013.
Lewandowski meanwhile went from strength to strength and is still going strong at the age of 32. He would eventually leave Dortmund for Bayern Munich in 2014.
Despite missing out on the Polish ace, United did sign Shinji Kagawa from Dortmund in the summer of 2012. The Japanese enjoyed mixed success before returning to Germany two years later.
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The prospect of seeing Lewandowski develop at United would have been a pleasure. The 32-year-old would have been a world-class option around whom we could have built a team. Alas, it will now remain a what-if scenario for us to ponder over.
