8 months ago
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Joe Cole revealed the lengths Sir Alex Ferguson went to to sign him as a teenager.
Cole had an illustrious career playing for West Ham, Chelsea and Liverpool, but Manchester United were desperate to sign him when he was coming through the youth ranks of football.
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When he was a teenager, Fergie even made him an offer that was difficult to turn down and he explained why he had to.
Cole told John Obi Mikel’s podcast: “This is probably why Fergie is the best we’ve seen. He found me as a kid, around 14 or 15, then invited me up to Manchester United.
“You go up, they took me out for dinner with my mum and dad. I met Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs and all the players. They really wined and dined me.
“He actually offered me the chance to come with the team before the 1994 FA Cup final against Chelsea and walk out on the pitch.
“As a 13-year-old boy, that’s a dream. But I’d already decided to sign for West Ham.”
Manchester United had a revered academy that produced, among others, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers, who formed the backbone of the team that won the 1999 treble.
But there were plenty of future greats on the books at West Ham, too.
Cole continued: “My West Ham team as a kid was the best team. I just liked it there. I was a Chelsea supporter. I used to go and watch them as a kid. You know the kids who sit by the tunnel and get your autograph - that was me.
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“I was a ball boy, too.
“The academy at Chelsea for my year wasn’t very good. I didn’t want to play in a team that wasn’t very good.
“When I went to West Ham, I just fell in love with the people there. The youth development guy and the coach were great.
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“Rio [Ferdinand] was a few years older than me, Frank [Lampard] was a few years older than me, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe were below me. That’s why I joined them, because it seemed like the best academy to join.
“Imagine walking out at an FA Cup final. I might not have made it as a footballer and that might have been the best thing I’ve done in my life.
“My dad said to me ‘you’ve made your mind up, you can’t string the man along’. He had to ring Alex and say no he’s going to sign for West Ham.
“There were other times in my career where they came in for me. When I was 21 and left West Ham, but Chelsea were in for me and they were my team. That’s where I had to go.
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“Then maybe another occasion when they tried to make a bid, but it was close.”
Cole made his professional debut for West Ham in 1999 and played for them 150 times before joining Chelsea in 2003.
They paid £6.6million for him right at the start of Roman Abramovich’s reign and he went on to win three Premier League titles, two FA Cups, and the League Cup.
After leaving Chelsea he went on to play for Liverpool, Lille, Aston Villa, Coventry, and Tampa Bay Rowdies.
