Inter Milan vice-president and legend Javier Zanetti has revealed he was “tempted” to join Manchester United in 2001 or 2002.
Zanetti is one of the icons of the game after starting his career in his native Argentina before moving to Inter Milan in 1995.
He would go on to spend nearly 20 years with the Italian side, making 858 appearances in all competitions for them, the most in the club’s history.
The South American won no fewer than 16 honours with the Italian club during that time, winning Serie A, the Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana as well as the Champions League, UEFA Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
He was also a star for Argentina, making 145 appearances for his country after his debut in 2004 and winning the Pan American Games in 1995.
Numbers such as those have seen him recognised as one of the best players in the history of the game, with him inducted into the Inter Milan Hall of Fame in 2018, the Italian Hall of Fame the same year and the AFA Team of All Time in 2015.
“In 2001 I refused a much bigger contract offered by Real Madrid,” Sport Italia report him saying in a conversation about his playing career.
“In addition to the money, however, I considered the family, the relationship with the fans and the fact that I wanted to make my mark at Milan, by going to Madrid I would have been one of many. I would have won more but I wanted to do it at Inter.
“I was also tempted by Manchester United and Barcelona. I don’t remember if it was 2001 or 2002 and I found Ferguson at the airport and he asked me about my contract and when it was expiring.
“But I was happy in Milan. Elsewhere I would have had an important career but I wouldn’t have been as happy as I was at Inter.”
