Schalke goalkeeper Michael Langer has admitted he had the chance to join Manchester United in 2009, and even spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson or 30 minutes.
The 38-year-old has been speaking to SPOX about his career so far, which has seen him turn out for the like of VfB Stuttgart, FSV Frankfurt, Valerenga and now Schalke.
He initially started his playing career in Austria with FC Hard before eventually ending up in Germany with Stuttgart II.
He would spend 11 years in Germany with various clubs there before a departure to Valerenga in Norway in May 2014 and then a switch the USA with Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2016.
That adventure only lasted a few months before he was off to Sweden with Norrköping before eventually returning to Schalke in August 2017, where he has been number two ever since.
At 38-years-old it is unlikely he will be moving outside of Germany again, or indeed switching to England at any point, an opportunity that has not come back for him since Manchester United showed an interest in 2009.
“A consultant organised the trial training. I also benefited from the fact that United’s goalkeeper coach Eric Steele already knew me from a summer camp in Germany. In the end, I was there for four days. It was a great experience for me.
“We kept in touch for six months after that, but it never became concrete. I remember that very well. Suddenly, at lunch in the canteen, the chair to my right moved back – and Sir Alex Ferguson sat down.
“We talked for half an hour. It was impressive how much he wanted to know about me, my family and my youth.
“Unfortunately, my English was very poor at the time. I apologised to him for that. My school English and his Scottish accent were not a good match.”
