"It didn't happen" - Rio Ferdinand reveals he nearly convinced Manchester United to sign Luka Modric and Liverpool superstar

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has revealed that the Red Devils were once close to signing Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric and Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

Luka Modric joined Tottenham Hotspur from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008. He eventually became one of the most popular players for the Lilywhites. As a result, former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand decided to privately convince the Croatian to join the Red Devils in 2012.

The Englishman said on his YouTube channel FIVE that, during his time, he somehow wanted to contact and convince players to join the Old Trafford outfit. He added that he also reached out to Thiago Alcantara when he left Barcelona in 2013. Ferdinand said via Daily Star:

"Any player that was available or was coming up I used to think that I could somehow get into them. Even Thiago Alcantara at Liverpool, I spoke to him before he left Barcelona to go to Bayern Munich, and that almost happened but we signed [Marouane] Fellaini instead."

Nevertheless, instead of Luka Modric, Sir Alex Ferguson signed Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund for a reported transfer fee of £12 million in 2012.

Modric later joined Real Madrid for a reported transfer fee of £30 million in the same year. Since then, he has made 508 appearances for Los Blancos, where he bagged 38 goals and 80 assists. He won five UEFA Champions League trophies with them, among numerous other honors.

He has made 20 appearances for Real Madrid this season, where he has four goal contributions (1G, 3A).

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Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand picks his favorite side to ace the Premier League

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has backed Pep Guardiola's Manchester City for winning the 2023-24 Premier League title. The Englishman believes that the Cityzens will be successful in defending their title at the end of the season.

He also affirmed that Pep Guardiola's side is yet to unleash their full potential in top-tier English football. Rio Ferdinand said that Manchester City can get on a 20-game winning streak and ace the title, saying (via Football.London):

"I still can’t look past City. I just feel that they are not even hitting second or third gear yet. They are chilling, and when the turn of the year comes, they know that track and they know the way to go and up their levels - they could go on a 20-game winning streak and I don’t see anyone else who can prove they can do that."

Manchester City are third in the Premier League with 40 points after 19 matches, level on points with fourth-placed Arsenal. They recently defeated Sheffield United on Saturday (December 30) at Etihad Stadium (2-0), with Rodri (14') and Julian Alvarez (61') scoring.