You’ve heard the stories about how Alex Ferguson tried, and failed, to sign Paul Gascoigne. You’ll be equally familiar with the failure to convince Alan Shearer to join Manchester United.
You will probably know that his first signings were Viv Anderson and Brian McClair.
But did you know, if Ferguson had got his way in 1987, another player would have been his first signing at the club – and it could well have redefined his entire era at Manchester United.
That’s because the player in question is none other than Marco Van Basten.
That’s right. The Dutch legend, who would immortalise his own name in history a year later with a breathtaking volley in the 1988 European Championships Final, could have ended up at Old Trafford.
And, unlike the other examples above, this was not a case of Van Basten turning United down. Rather, Ferguson was just too late.
The story is revealed in the latest episode of Barclay and Barton on Manchester United, the podcast exclusive to TalkOfTheDevils.
The current series looks at Ferguson’s early years at United in great detail – and this blockbuster of a story was discovered.
“The joy of doing podcasts like this is that it enables us to do deeper dives,” author and producer Wayne Barton said. “I found out this during the research. In 1987, Ferguson asked Jesper Olsen if he wouldn’t mind using his contacts to ask Marco van Basten if he would mind making a move to Old Trafford.”
“But, the deal was scuppered by the news that van Basten had already signed a pre-contract agreement with AC Milan.”
Paddy Barclay – arguably the greatest British sportswriter of his generation, and in his prime in the 1980s, admitted that he had not heard the story before.
“It was news to me – and I was supposed to be a newspaper man at the time!” Barclay laughed. “What the Gascoigne and Van Basten moves made clear was that Ferguson wanted the best players in the world. Gascoigne was a phenomenon, and Van Basten was regarded just the same, and is now remembered as one of the best number nines of all time. This was the kind of ambition he had.”
Ferguson had hoped to use the impending departure of Frank Stapleton to Ajax as leverage; in the end, he signed Brian McClair, and, a little later, he brought Mark Hughes back to the club – Hughes, who possessed a volley as good as Van Basten’s, was crucial in United’s return to glory.
So, just like Shearer eventually lead to Cantona, there was some long-term consolation. Still, the thought of Van Basten turning out at Old Trafford
