Former West Ham United player Paolo Di Canio speaks to the crowd before the match during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester City at London Stadium on September 16, 2023
West Ham United legend Paolo Di Canio at the London Stadium (Image: Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Paolo Di Canio has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson asked him to join Manchester United on Christmas Day in 2001. At the time, the Red Devils were the most successful side in the Premier League, winning seven out of nine titles since the English top flight's re-brand in 1992.
Eager to make history and become the first team in the competition's history to win fourth successive championships, Sir Alex looked to bolster his frontline in the January transfer window. So, a couple of days after Di Canio scored a brilliant panenka penalty to salvage a point for West Ham against Leicester City, the United boss dialled his line.
Speaking on the latest episode from The Overlap On Tour Unseen, Jamie Carragher recalled the transfer rumour. The former Liverpool defender said: "He nearly came to Man United, Di Canio, didn’t he?"
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Roy Keane nodded and replied: "You know he would have probably been decent at United." To which Carragher said: "They tried to sign him in the January I think."
Ian Wright agreed that a move to United would have been perfect for Di Canio. The Arsenal legend chipped in and said: "Such a skilful player."
Previously speaking on the Sky Sports News' Transfer Talk podcast, the former West Ham star confirmed that he had an offer to join United, although – at first – he thought he was being prank-called by a friend in Italy.
"I thought it was a joke, I thought it was my friend from Italy," said Di Canio, as quoted by talkSPORT. "My stomach went a bit because it makes you think you have underestimated yourself, that you are bigger than what you thought.
"Man United call you, try to persuade you to move because they want you. For a couple of minutes, you feel big and strong. It was strange for me to say no to Sir Alex. I said, 'thanks, 1000 times thanks, but I can't.
"West Ham are the family that warmed to me in the worst moment in my life, I'm the skipper, I can’t'. He told me, 'Paolo, respect for this, I love people that think in this way. You are the man that I thought you were.'"
So, instead, Sir Alex signed Diego Forlan from Independiente in a deal worth £6.9m. The Uruguayan legend went on to feature 13 times for United in the Premier League that season, failing to find the net or provide an assist.
Unfortunately for the Red Devils, they didn't manage to win a fourth successive English top flight title, with Arsenal waltzing away champions. United did, however, bounce back the following season in 2002/03 to reclaim their Premier League crown.
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