MOYES WANTED BALE BUT HE GOT FELLAINI

DAVID MOYES has revealed that Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Cesc Fabregas and Toni Kroos were his transfer targets when he took over at Manchester United — and he believes he would still be in charge had he landed them.

The Sunderland boss returns to Old Trafford on Boxing Day for the first time since he was unceremoniously sacked in April 2014, just ten months after replacing Sir Alex Ferguson and signing a six-year deal.

Moyes endured a frustrating first summer, and after Bale joined Real Madrid and Fabregas remained at Barcelona, he made just one signing — the £27.5million deadline-day acquisition of his former Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini.

A deal for Bayern Munich playmaker Kroos was agreed in January on the understanding he would join at the end of the season, and Ferguson told Moyes that Ronaldo was open to a return. ‘When I first went in, my real target was Gareth Bale,’ he said. ‘I felt all along he was a United player.

‘I fought right until the last minute. We offered a bigger deal than Real Madrid, but Gareth had his mind made up on going to Madrid.

‘The other one was Cesc Fabregas, who we thought we would get right up until the last minute. And I remember when I first met Sir Alex, he always said there was a chance Ronaldo might come back.

‘So that was the level we were targeting. Toni Kroos agreed to come. I agreed it with Toni himself and his agent. But sometimes you don’t get deals done. Given time, I would have hoped to be working with a successful team now.’

Moyes has watched Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho struggle since his sacking, and he says that is proof of the difficulty of the job.

‘There have been two very successful managers go in there and you can see how tough they are finding it,’ he said.

‘I had my chance but I believed I had longer.

‘I didn’t believe I had to do it in nine months. I was given plenty of reassurances.

‘But whoever took over from Sir Alex would have found it difficult. It wouldn’t have been an easy ride had it been Jose, Carlo Ancelotti, Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola or David Moyes.’