French defender turned down United move thanks to ex-Blackburn starlet.
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane has revealed that he turned down a move to Manchester United back in 2011 because the club had just signed Phil Jones, the Daily Mail reports.
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Former United chief Sir Alex Ferguson had been keen to snap the starlet defender up following his impressive debut campaign for French side Lens, however, he declined to head for Old Trafford as they had only just signed Blackburn’s Phil Jones on a five-year deal.
When asked about his decision to move to the Spanish capital, Varane told L’Equipe: “Manchester United? They had just signed Phil Jones in my position.”
“PSG? The project there wasn’t clear. The Qataris had only just arrived and it was all very vague.
“My first reaction when Real wanted to sign me was not, “Of course I will go”. I only made my decision when I knew that the coach wanted me to play in the first team.”
Former Madrid boss Jose Mourinho revealed earlier this week how close United had been to signing the player only for club legend Zinedine Zidane to step in and convince him to head to Spain at the last minute.
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