BARCELONA star Robert Lewandowski struggled to understand Sir Alex Ferguson when he tried to sign him for Manchester United.
The legendary boss gave the striker – then at Borussia Dortmund – a call to convince him to move to Old Trafford.
Lewandowski was ready to quit the Bundesliga side only for then-manager Jurgen Klopp to block the transfer.
The 34-year-old moved to Bayern Munich a few years later, where he spent eight seasons, scoring 344 goals in 375 games.
Now at Barca, Lewandowski recalled the moment he nearly signed for United.
He told Bild: “I remember the moment exactly. We had a friendly with Dortmund in preparation, I think against Bochum.
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“I was subbed at half-time. I looked at my mobile phone in the dressing room. There was a text message with the sender +44.
“Ferguson had tried to call me and then sent me a message. He wanted to talk to me.
“I was still in the dressing room, I took a shower and called him back, in a quiet corner.
“My English wasn’t as good as it is today. He has a strong Scottish accent. I was so focused on understanding what he meant. Ferguson tried to be considerate, spoke slowly.
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“I was 22-years-old, it was a special moment. I spoke to Aki Watzke and Jurgen Klopp in the camp. I wanted to go to Man Utd.
“But they said: ‘No chance, Robert. We need you. You have to stay’.”
Lewandowski also opened up on the time Klopp tried to rekindle his relationship with him and bring him to Liverpool.
The Pole claims the German had approached him after Bayern met the Reds in a pre-season friendly in 2017.
Lewandowski said: “We spoke on that occasion. Klopp asked me, ‘Don’t you want to come to Liverpool?’ We looked at each other, then I laughed.
“I don’t know if he was totally serious. But going to Liverpool was never in my mind.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
