Robert Lewandowski says he agreed to join Manchester United in a phone call with Sir Alex Ferguson(Image: Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Robert Lewandowski recalls how close he was to Man Utd transfer after Sir Alex Ferguson call

Manchester United very nearly signed Robert Lewandowski, with the superstar striker telling Sir Alex Ferguson over the phone that he was ready to move to Old Trafford

by · The Mirror

Robert Lewandowski agreed to join Manchester United in 2012 before the move ended up falling through.

The Polish striker, 36, is widely regarded as one of the finest goalscorers of all time, having found the net over 400 times at club level in the past decade. He exploded onto the scene with Borussia Dortmund and caught the eye of some of Europe's biggest and wealthiest clubs after bagging 30 goals in all competitions in the 2011/12 season.

That summer, he received a call from Sir Alex Ferguson and, shortly thereafter, agreed to move to Old Trafford. But as Lewandowski explained on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, presented by Qatar Airways, the deal was cancelled after Dortmund changed their minds about selling him.

"I remember one conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson, you know, for example. That was 2012," Lewandowski told United legend Ferdinand. "I remember the conversation... [it was] before pre-season... I knew that he's going to call to me."

When asked if he was nervous, the Barcelona star said: "Oh, very... I knew what I should tell him, you know. Yeah, of course, I want to join Manchester United, yeah. Can you repeat again? Yes, yes, of course, of course."

"So why didn't you sign," Ferdinand asked, to which Lewandowski replied: "Ask the club, you know... I remember also the conversation with the president of Dortmund. He said to me, they need me. They're not going to sign me to Manchester United because I'm so important for them, and it's not the perfect time now.

"So, yeah. But that time I said yes, yeah, that's true. I said yes to join Manchester United because if Sir Alex Ferguson calls you, you cannot say no, you know. Especially when I was 22 or 23 years old. And, you know, that time I was playing for Dortmund. Even, you know, I was happy, but Manchester United are like the prime of Manchester United, you know."

Lewandowski exploded onto the scene with Dortmund in early 2010s( Image: Getty Images)

Lewandowski ended up staying at Dortmund for another two seasons before securing a controversial free transfer to their Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich after running his contract down in 2014. In eight years at the Allianz Arena, Lewandowski scored an eye-watering 344 goals, averaging just shy of a goal per game. He scored 40 or more goals in seven of the eight campaign, and 50 or more in two of them.

In 2022 he moved to Barcelona, once again on a free transfer. He's scored 78 goals in the two-and-a-bit years since, and helped fire the club to the La Liga title - their first since Lionel Messi's departure - in 2023.

While United will undoubtedly rue missing out on nabbing one of the all-time greats, their 'Plan B' in 2012 didn't half pay dividends. They ended up signing Arsenal's Robin van Persie, who not only helped the club wrestle the Premier League title back from neighbours Manchester City, but also ended his first campaign with the Golden Boot award.

Sir Alex Ferguson thought he'd worked his magic( Image: Offside/Getty Images)

That said, Van Persie's star quickly began waning following Ferguson's retirement in 2013, and United have spent the last decade trying, and largely failing, to find a suitable replacement for the Dutchman. Had Lewandowski joined instead, the post-Ferguson era might have looked considerably different.

Listen to the full Rio Meets Robert Lewandowski interview on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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