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

#1 Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos was quickly snapped up by Real Madrid

The World Cup 2014 winner with Germany had only 1 year left in his contract when the tournament in Brazil finished. There were disagreements over his salary demands with the Bayern board and they decided to put him on the market. Real Madrid acted quickly and got a gem of a player for a paltry € 25m. The other club heavily interested in his signature was Manchester United. The German international has admitted that he had almost joined The Red Devils.

I knew before that Manchester wanted me. And Moyes underlined that absolutely. It was a really nice afternoon with very nice people. We talked a lot about United's footballing plan which convinced me. In the end, we agreed to do it. We agreed verbally.

Toni Kroos is a midfield metronome who simply loves to hold on to the ball and dictate the tempo of the game. His diagonal long balls are a treat to watch and he’s got immaculate passing vision and accuracy. Very resistant to high press, he can hold on to the ball when needed and his positioning on the field is praiseworthy. The German international has been a midfield maestro for Real Madrid has gone on to lift 4 Champions League titles with Los Blancos and is surely United's biggest miss of the lot.