Argentine forward Carlos Tevez revealed that he was never offered a Manchester United contract before his high-profile move to cross-town rivals, Manchester City.
The Boca Juniors striker spent three years at Old Trafford between 2007 and 2009, scoring 19 goals in 63 appearances, to help the club win the Premier League twice, Club World Cup and the 2008 UEFA Champions League.
Having joined United on a two-year loan from West Ham United, Tevez thrived in his attacking role alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. The United fans loved him but all that soured when he made an unexpected move to join City in 2009 on a five-year deal.
“With [Sir Alex] Ferguson nothing happened, it was a normal relationship,” he told Marca. “I spent two years on loan at United [from third-party owner Media Sports Investment] and Ferguson in the last year tells me they will buy the rights for me to stay.
“We reached the Champions League final in Rome and I had no contract on the table, although I had heard about it for a year.
“Then I went to City and they complained, but I had no choice to sign for Manchester [United] and I was free.”
Tevez’s City career saw him claim another Premier League winner’s medal, the FA Cup and Community Shield to go with his 58 goals from 113 appearances.
He moved to Serie A giants Juventus in 2013 and continued his prolific silverware collection with two league titles and the Coppa Italia.
At the age of 32, the Argentinian is back with his first professional club, Boca Juniors, and has kept up his goalscoring habit with eight goals in 20 matches since 2015.
