Ferdinand says Liverpool star asked to join Man Utd before Woodward blocked move

Rio Ferdinand has revealed that Thiago Alcantara asked him if he could help with a move to Manchester United.

Barcelona took the surprise decision to sell the midfielder in 2013, with Bayern Munich eventually agreeing a £21.6 million deal.

David Moyes replaced Sir Alex Ferguson as United manager that same summer and the club were also heavily linked with a move for Thiago.

Ferdinand claims that Thiago personally called him to ask if he could put in a good word to United’s hierarchy.

But the former United defender revealed that David Moyes and Ed Woodward turned down Thiago’s advances, while the club ended the window by signing Marouane Fellaini from Everton.

‘Before Thiago left Barcelona he called me,’ Ferdinand told Vibe with FIVE.

‘He speaks fluent English and we had played against Barcelona in the United States on tour and he was unreal. He played as the No.10 and he scored a worldie.

‘So we knew about him anyway and few years later Moyes was manager. I don’t speak to Thiago, I don’t know him, but David De Gea gave him my number.

‘So he [Thiago] rang me, and he said, ‘Rio, I would love to come to Man United, can you speak to someone?’

‘He said to me, ‘I would like the opportunity to come to Man United, is there anybody that I could or you could speak to see the interest?’

‘So I spoke to the people at the club… Moyes, it might have [also] been Woodward, I mentioned it. [They replied], ‘no, we’re already down the line with a couple of other signings, it’s fine.’

‘I think he was given 24 hours, Thiago, to make a decision. He ended up ringing me up next morning again, ‘I’ve slept on it, can you let me know about Man United, what’s going on?’.

‘I asked again and he said again, ‘I’ve got 24 hours to make a decision otherwise Pep won’t take me to Bayern Munich’.

‘He ended up going to Bayern Munich, and the rest is history. But what a guy, great guy.’

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