Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed one of the greatest sorrows in his career – the failed attempt to sign Paul Gascoigne. Despite nurturing some of the greatest names in football history, like David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Wayne Rooney, during his illustrious 27 years at Old Trafford, Ferguson still rues not adding Gazza to that list.
Speaking to LADbibleTV, the iconic Scotsman recalled how he was left gobsmacked by Gascoigne's prowess during a match against Newcastle United. Ferguson explained: "We played Newcastle up there, it was Easter Monday I think, and he had just come back from injury.
"As soon as he came back, they started winning games. I went there and played three in the middle of the pitch – [Norman] Whiteside, [Bryan] Robson and Remi Moses, and he destroyed them. Honestly. And then he nutmegged Moses right in front of the dugout and patted him on the head."
The former Red Devils boss admitted he urged then-Manchester United chairman Martin Edwards to secure the deal for Gazza post-haste, but fate intervened. He added: "He was unbelievable and I said to Martin Edwards coming back on the bus, 'Sign this boy. Get on the phone to him on Monday'.
"And by that time, he had already done a deal with Tottenham, which was really unfortunate. That was a disappointment because he agreed to sign and then Tottenham changed his mind by buying his mother and father a house," reports the Mirror.
Gazza made a record-breaking £2.2million move to Tottenham Hotspur in 1988, and reflecting on his career choices, Ferguson believes that it was the wrong decision. He added: "Unfortunately, we didn't get him and I think, looking back now, he made a big mistake.
"He recognised it himself years later. But we had Geordies in the camp. We had Bobby Charlton, Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, even Gary Pallister from Middlesbrough. We had people there who would have taken care of him, particularly Bryan Robson who is fantastic with players. Instead, he goes to an island in London, and you're easily swallowed up there as a young lad."
Gascoigne, whose talents dazzled fans across various clubs including Lazio and Rangers before retiring in 2004, missed out on the opportunity to be part of Ferguson's astonishing tenure at Manchester United - in which he collected a haul of 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, and two Champions Leagues.