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Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has shared that he was close to joining Manchester United in 2014 from Bayern Munich. David Moyes, United's manager back then, almost signed the German and even had a verbal agreement in place.
The Scottish manager even went to meet Kroos and his family in Munich to convince them to join United.
However, Moyes was sacked in April 2014 and that ended the chances for Manchester United to sign the German midfielder. Kroos then joined Real Madrid after winning the FIFA World Cup with Germany and the rest is history.
The German won three Champions League trophies and three La Liga titles with them.
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Speaking about almost joining Manchester United, Kroos said (via Daily Mail):
"I knew beforehand that United wanted me. And Moyes absolutely underlined that. It was a really nice afternoon with very pleasant people.. We talked a lot about United's football plan, which convinced me.
"But we also got to know each other as people. We knew quite a bit about the Moyes family afterwards. We talked about how we lived and how we all imagined life as a family."
He added:
"In the end we broke up to do it. So we agreed verbally. The next step should be to look at everything on the spot in Manchester. The move would not have been that complicated - after all, we only had one child at the time, seven months old. It would all have worked."
Kroos' manager at Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola, didn't want the midfielder to join Real Madrid. However, after the move to United broke down, Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti called the German and convinced him to join Los Blancos.
"Wouldn't have won the Champions League three times with Manchester United" - Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos
The German midfielder then went on to divulge that he didn't think about what could've happened if he had joined United. The Real Madrid star said:
"I'm not someone who thinks about hypotheticals. Yes, it was close. I almost went to Manchester United. But that's not how things turned out. I don't have these what-if-thoughts. Because there are no real answers to them.
"The only thing I can say with certainty is that I probably wouldn't have won the Champions League three times with Manchester United."
He then also talked about how United are a club where you can't go for just one or two years. This was perhaps him trying to indicate that he won't be joining the Red Devils in the future.
His contract with Real Madrid expires in the summer of 2022.
Kroos concluded:
"United is too big a club to be there for a year or two. This is not a club where you go to finish your career. You have to be there for three or four years and both the player and club must have a clear idea."
With United struggling massively in midfield, one could only imagine the impact Kroos would've had at the club. However, it was not to be.
