Frederic Veseli was convinced to join Manchester United by Sir Alex Fergusonplaceholder image
Frederic Veseli was convinced to join Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson | Manchester United via Getty Images
When he was released by former club Manchester City he took the bold decison to immediately join Man Utd instead.
Manchester will come to a standstill on Sunday afternoon as Man City welcome Manchester United in the latest installment of a fierce derby that will divide the region.
In the great history of the clash, there are not too many players who can boast both City and United on their CVs. There are even fewer who have gone directly from one club to another.
With every Manchester Derby clash comes misinformation about the Denis Law backheel that didn’t actually relegate United and the tale of Carlos Tevez’s controversial move across the city. They might be two of the most famous players to have worn both blue and red, but there is another player who actually did it more recently, though he won’t be remembered that well by fans of either club.
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It was 13 years ago when defender Frederic Veseli decided he needed a change in his playing career. The youngster was highly rated at City, but in the winter window of 2012 he began to realise he was never going to get his chance under Roberto Mancini.
The Albanian had already spoken to numerous clubs as he contemplated the next step in his future and was fully aware he would have to leave England to do so. Then, out of the blue, came a meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson and an offer he couldn’t turn down.
"Freddie spoke with several clubs, here and abroad. But he wants to be a top player in England, and when Sir Alex spoke to him, it made such an impression," his former agent Adam Bouskouchi said. "He is a difficult man to say no to, and his track record was enough for Freddie to feel he was making the right choice to join United."
United had tried to sign Veseli three and a half years earlier, though they had lost out to City that time around. The Blues struck an agreement to sign the then-Swiss youth captain before the Under-17 World Cup back in 2009. It quickly paid off, as Veseli captained his country to a historic victory at the prestigious tournament at the age of just 16.
Expectations were high for a player who had already achieved so much at such a young age, and Veseli was soon promoted to the City reserve side, while he also frequently trained with the first team to give him further experience. The teenager was even set to make his senior debut in the final league game of the season away at West Ham, but tore his hamstring in the week of the match and never got the chance again.
Veseli featured for City during their pre-season tour of the US, but in a summer when City signed Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Stefan Savic, it was clear they were targeting immediate success, rather than investing in youth and the long-term future of the club.
Mancini was still eager to agree a new deal with the talented youngster, but as his contract drew towards expiration, it was a trip to the pub that set the wheels in motion for his cross-city transfer.
Veseli had recently caught the eye of Ferguson during a Manchester derby at reserve level when he bumped into United assistant Rene Meulensteen at a local pub, and his uncertain future came up in conversation.
"Mancini was disappointed and was always asking me to renew," Veseli told The Athletic of the move. "I didn’t know what to say to him. My contract was up and City released me and signed a paper saying I could leave on a free.
"The next day, I drove to City’s training ground at Carrington to collect my stuff. I didn’t tell anybody what I was going to do next. I told the gaffer that I was leaving the club and he asked me where I was going. I told him: “United”. He couldn’t believe it, but he had to take training. He wished me good luck. The reserve manager told me I had to train, but I told him I was leaving. I didn’t say where. Then I drove around the corner and signed for Manchester United after doing a medical.
“The story broke in the newspapers. On social media, I was congratulated and received death threats at the same time. I had to shut my social media down. I wasn’t scared, I didn’t think people would try and kill me, but people telling me that they knew where I lived wasn’t great. I was sad because I’d had a really good time at City in three and a half years there.”
Ferguson felt 'there was nothing to be lost' by signing Veseli, though United also viewed the move as the perfect chance to humiliate their local rivals at a time when they represented a first real threat to their dominance of English football. The 19-year-old was given extra training to get him up to speed, as coaches warned him there would be higher demands than he had at City.
Veseli put his move down to the promise of first-team opportunities with United, though City were somewhat vindicated with their decision to let him leave when they went to beat their noisy neighbours to the Premier League title at the end of the season.
"City had loads of big names and would become champions, but United were already champions. The energy was different, the aura. I fell in love with it straight away."
In fact, although he regularly trained with the first-team, Veseli did not get as many chances at reserve level with United as he did at City and struggled to shine at centre-back amid fierce competition from the likes of Michael Keane, Scott Wootton and Tom Thorpe.
After being included in a pre-season tour squad, the centre-back found himself moved to full-back and then defensive midfield as United looked to get the best out of him at reserve level, but after another injury setback it was clear his move wasn't going to work out how he had hoped.
"I did my hamstring against Spurs reserves. Fergie had already told me I could leave as I hadn’t made the first team. He said I could stay for another year if I wanted, that he was happy to help me find another club; and that I could leave on a free. He really helped because he gave a fair and accurate feedback to the clubs who called.”
Wayne Rooney gave the youngster a glowing endorsement that helped seal a loan move to Ipswich Town, but after struggling at Championship level he soon found himself at Bury and then Port Vale. He would sign for the latter permanently in January 2015, three years after he had moved to United.
After such a demise, Veseli soon fell out of love with the game and moved back to Switzerland to study law at university when he was offered a trial at Swiss giants Lugano. It changed his life forever. A year later, he was called up to represent Albania, the country of his parents, and would feature for them as they made history at the European Championship in France, as well as at Euro 2024 eight years later.
Spells at Empoli, Le Mans, Salernitana, Benevento, Fatih Karagumruk, Egnatia and Südtirol have followed and at the age of 32, Veseli's unique legacy lives on. Whatever happens in the Manchester derby this weekend, he is one of few players who can say he played for them both.
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