Netherlands legend admits agent ruined opportunity to join Manchester United

I often joke that Wesley Sneijder was the greatest Manchester United midfielder that never was.

After Stretty News launched back in 2010, I can recall years of speculation concerning Sneijder moving to Old Trafford.

It never happened. Sir Alex Ferguson wasn’t happy with reporters, especially Bob Cass (RIP), for revealing information about the potential deal. The hairdryer came out to play.

The Netherlands legend, who was part of Jose Mourinho’s treble-winning side at Inter Milan, has lifted the lid on his failed move to the Premier League.

Just months after lifting the Champions League for the Serie A giants, he helped the Netherlands to the World Cup final.

Sneijder, 40, is one of the players deemed unlucky not to win a Ballon d’Or during the Lionel Messi/Cristiano Ronaldo domination period.

In an interview with talkSPORT, Sneijder reveals two Premier League clubs wanted to sign him during his playing career.

It is no secret that Ferguson was interested in bringing Sneijder to United, but Holland’s most capped player (134 appearances) blames his representative for the deal failing to materialise.

The former Real Madrid star then snubbed Liverpool in 2013 in favour of Turkish giants Galatasaray.

“I had the possibility twice,” Sneijder said when asked about never taking his career to the Premier League.

“The first one was for Man United, that was the thing my manager screwed up a little – my agent at the time.

“And later on it was Liverpool, and I decided Galatasaray over Liverpool.

“Just because Liverpool was in that time not the Liverpool that it is nowadays.”

Interestingly, United and Liverpool are both managed by Dutch coaches and Sneijder feels Erik ten Hag will come out on top against Arne Slot.

It’s a shame Sneijder never got to join United. That was a transfer that got me excited more than once…

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