Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira has revealed that he was presented with an opportunity to join Manchester United during the peak of his rivalry with legendary captain Roy Keane.
Keane vs. Vieira
Like Keane at Manchester United, Vieira is considered one of the greatest players to have played for Arsenal. During the 1990s and early 2000s, the pair came to exemplify the fierce rivalry between the two clubs as they competed intensely for English honours.
The pair faced each other on 20 occasions, resulting in seven victories apiece and six draws.
On occasion, their confrontations became ugly, particularly in February 2005, when Keane confronted Vieira in the Highbury Tunnel for trying to intimidate Gary Neville.
However, according to the Frenchman, there was a possibility they could have shared a dressing room. Speaking to Sky Sports, Vieira revealed that he held meetings with Sir Alex Ferguson about potentially completing a controversial switch to Old Trafford. He eventually declined.
Stunning admission
“I had the opportunity to move to Real Madrid a couple of times and I even had an opportunity to move to Manchester United.”
“I had a meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson. Full respect, I couldn’t say no to meeting him because he was an important figure in the Premier League.”
He continued, “We met and we talked and he explained to me his vision that he had for Manchester United and the team that he wanted to build. He wanted to play me with Roy Keane, (Ryan) Giggs on the left-hand side, David Beckham on the right-hand side and (Paul) Scholes to play behind (Ruud) Van Nistelrooy, so it wasn’t a bad team.”
“He wanted to play me with Roy Keane, (Ryan) Giggs on the left-hand side, David Beckham on the right-hand side and (Paul) Scholes to play behind (Ruud) Van Nistelrooy, so it wasn’t a bad team.”
“When you do well, of course there’s teams who are interested and then you have to make a decision.”
“But the decision for me was to stay at Arsenal because I felt the love from the club, from the players and from the fans. Everything was there for me to grow up as a player and to achieve what I wanted to.”
After Arsenal, Vieira moved to Juventus and then Inter Milan before completing his career at Manchester City.
Featured image by Simone Arveda via Getty Images
