FRENCH defender Dayot Upamecano has revealed he was desperate to join Manchester United as a teenager.
The 22-year-old has impressed for RB Leipzig in recent years, earning a move to their Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich at the end of the season.
United were interested in the £38million ace before losing out to the German champions but they first approached Upamecano back in 2015.
The France youth international admitted he was tempted by an approach when he was 17 before his parents called for caution.
Upamecano then revealed the family were persuaded by a proposal from former RB Leipzig sporting director Ralf Rangnick.
He explained that the centre-back could join feeder club Liefering to play senior football before moving on up as part of his development.
He told the Athletic: “I was a young boy. I wanted to sign for them straight away.
“Manchester United! But then my parents took me aside and said: ‘Let’s think carefully about this’.
“We thought about it for a long time and then decided that going ‘etape par etape’ (step by step) was the best option for me.
“Everything Ralf said came true.”
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Upamecano agreed a five-year contract in February to move to Bayern this summer and replace Real-Madrid bound David Alaba.
United, Chelsea and Liverpool were among the clubs attempting to secure his services.
But Upamecano will now be joined by Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann who will become Bayern’s new manager ahead of next season.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
