Arjen robbed after admitting he wanted Old Trafford move
ARJEN Robben has admitted that he would have signed for United in 2004 – had the club offered him a deal.
Sir Alex Ferguson spoke to the then-PSV winger and even invited him for dinner in Manchester, but the Holland international signed for Chelsea, and Jose Mourinho, instead.
Robben went on to play for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, for whom he scored a crucial goal in the 2010 Champions League quarter-final at Old Trafford to knock United out of the competition on away goals.
But 34-year-old has said he would have preferred a move to the Reds, had an offer from the Reds been more forthcoming. “I had a very good conversation with him [Ferguson] over dinner in Manchester and we spoke about football and life,” Robben told FourFourTwo magazine.
“I also went and had a good look around the training ground and everything was good, but after I went back to PSV and nothing happened.
“There was no real contact and the deal didn’t happen.
“PSV were also negotiating with Chelsea at that time, so maybe they offered PSV more money? I don’t really know. I spoke to Chelsea and I liked their plans.
“We had one meeting and everything was done pretty quickly.
“Had United offered me a deal straight after I met them, I would have signed there, but it didn’t happen.”