Sir Alex Ferguson had a gleaming track record of bringing top strikers to Old Trafford during his 27 years in charge of Manchester United.
From Robin van Persie to Wayne Rooney, with Ruud van Nistelrooy, Andy Cole and countless others to boot, the Red Devils boasted the finest attacking talent during the Scotsman’s stewardship. Towards the end of Fergie’s reign, he turned to the Bundesliga for his next great goal-scorer.
And Robert Lewandowski has now shed light on exactly how the saga went down. The Pole, who was playing for Borussia Dortmund at the time, was still an up-and-coming name in European football. But his 30-goal 2011/12 campaign caught Ferguson’s eye.
Lewandowski has revealed that he green-lighted the deal directly to the then-United boss. But his big Premier League break was cruelly yanked away when Dortmund chiefs pulled the plug.
“I remember that conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson, it was in 2012 and I decided to join Manchester United,” Lewandowski told Rio Ferdinand Presents. “It was in pre-season and we were playing some games with Borussia Dortmund.
“I knew he was going to call me. And at half-time, they substituted me because I knew I was going to play 45 minutes. Then I got the call and, at that time, my level of English was different to what it is now. And, above all, if I was going to talk to this kind of person who was calling me, Sir Alex Ferguson, with that Scottish accent. Of course, I knew what I had to say to him, you know?
“Yes, I want to join Manchester United, yes! I remember the conversation with the president of Dortmund. He told me that they needed me. That they were not going to sell me to Manchester United because I was very important for them and it was not the right time.”
United eventually turned to Robin van Persie, who fired Fergie to the Premier League title in his final season, with 26 goals. But Lewandowski has gone on to become even better than the Dutchman, posting numbers usually only associated with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
Now 36 years old, Lewandowski remains a major force in Europe and La Liga. The Polish international has hit 14 in the league for Barca this season – nearly twice as many as his nearest challenger, and eight more than Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe.
Even now, more than a decade on from his Old Trafford near-miss, Lewandowski would be a game-changer for United, whose floundering forwards have struggled through the opening months of this campaign. But he has never played in the Premier League and may never do so, with his Barca contract running for another 18 months and containing the option of a further year.
