It’s not everyday you hear a story about a young player turning down a move to Manchester United, but that’s exactly what Ryad Boudebouz did back in 2006.
The former Sochaux and Bastia attacking midfielder, now playing for Montpellier, was speaking to L’Equipe du Soir on Monday night when he revealed his decision to say no to playing under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Quizzed about it by the show’s host, the 26-year-old said: “I was negotiating with Sochaux and my father got a phone call from a Manchester United scout.
“We didn’t really believe it until the day he turned up at our house and offered me a four-year professional contract, and a lot of money. At the time, that was already a lot for us. We made the choice to not leave too early.”
Having rejected the move to England, the forward then established himself in France, having his best season with Sochaux in 2010-11, picking up eight goals and eight assists in 38 league games.
Boudebouz went on to explain that considering the team United had at the time, he probably made the right choice as getting game time as a 16-year-old would have been very difficult, and he would have ended up ‘burying himself’ there.
Sometimes, going where the money is isn’t the better option!
