Everton midfielder, James Rodriguez, had admitted he could have been playing for Manchester United.
The Colombian has made an impressive start to life on Merseyside after Carlo Ancelotti signed him from Real Madrid.
Rodriguez already has three goals and three assists in the top flight having featured in six of the Toffees’ first seven games of the season.
He has been linked with a move to United many times over the course of his career, which is unsurprising given the calibre of player he has been, and the size of the Old Trafford club.
On rejecting United’s advances, Rodriguez told Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube show The Locker Room: “There was some kind of talk there. My agent (Jorge Mendes) has a great relationship with the club.
“We always dreamed of getting to a big club, and since I was a child, I always admired Manchester.
“I always saw those teams with Rio together with [Ryan] Giggs and [Paul] Scholes. There were a lot of prodigious players and I wanted to get there in that year. But it didn’t happen.
“I thought I had to play for a club that wasn’t so big.
“So, I went to France just before the World Cup and my plan was to go to the World Cup, have a great tournament, score goals, reach a good level and then play for a big club.”
