Top 4 players that Manchester United were linked with but could not recruit

#2 Thiago Alcantara

Thiago Alcântara in Spanish colours

The Spanish midfield wizard came through the ranks of La Masia and made it to the Barcelona first team. However, he could not cement a spot in the starting line-up due to the presence of evergreen Xavi and Iniesta in the squad. Eventually, when Pep Guardiola became the Bayern Munich manager in 2013, he wasted no time in covincing the Bavarian board to trigger the Spaniard’s € 25m release clause to snap up the player. Thiago Alcântara revealed that there had been talks with Manchester United over a move that summer.

There was never any firm proposal. David de Gea wanted me to join. He wrote a message on my match ball after we'd beaten Italy in the final (U-21 World Cup).

But he also stressed that the Pep Guardiola factor was very enticing and since he knew him since his youth days, it was an added factor in him making a move to Bayern Munich from Barcelona.