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Former Tottenham Hotspur star Toby Alderweireld has insisted he doesn’t regret not forcing a move to Manchester United earlier in his career.

The centre-back spent six years at Spurs before leaving them for Al-Duhail in 2021. Earlier this year, he made a switch to Royal Antwerp.

During the 33-year-old’s time at Tottenham, Manchester United showed interest in acquiring his services. This was in the summer of 2018 when José Mourinho was in charge at Old Trafford.

Sport/Voetbalmagazine have had a long chat with the Belgian, where he explained the Jupiler Pro League side will be the last club of his playing career.

The ex-Spurs defender was then asked about Manchester United’s approach in 2018, which was turned down by Tottenham chief Daniel Levy. When asked whether he should have pushed for a move to join the Red Devils, he revealed he didn’t have a say on this subject.

“People wrongly think that players have a lot to say in transfers. We are usually the last to be informed about a potential deal. That’s just the reality. After the World Cup in Russia, I found out what was going on with Manchester United. That’s partly up to me,” Alderweireld said.

“I always told my agent that I wanted to focus purely on football. I told him: ‘If a club comes, you can arrange everything and I will hear it.’ In the case of Manchester United, should I have been more committed? No, I don’t regret anything.

“My best years as a footballer have been with Tottenham. I have so much respect for that club that it would be strange to say now that I should have forced my transfer to Manchester United.”