Ferguson Wanted To Sign Bayern Munich Star Instead Of Van Persie At Manchester United

KEY POINTS

Lewandowski moved from Dortmund to Bayern on a free transfer
He scored a hat-trick on debut for Bayern within 23 minutes
The striker has now scored 266 goals for Bayern since 2014

Bayern Munich superstar Robert Lewandowski has revealed Sir Alex Ferguson wanted him to join Manchester United in 2012. When Lewandowski’s then-club Borrusia Dortmund blocked the move, Ferguson instead signed Robin van Persie ahead of the 2012-13 season.

Lewandowski, who spent four seasons at Dortmund, was linked with a move to Manchester United a number of times. While a move to Old Trafford failed to happen, Lewandowski made a free transfer to Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich in 2014. He made an immediate impact at Allianz Arena, scoring a 23-minute hat-trick on his debut and finishing the 2014-15 season with 25 goals, 13 assists from 49 competitive matches for Bayern Munich.

The Polish striker has won the league title with Bayern Munich in every season since his arrival from Dortmund in 2014.

Lewandowski, 32, continues to remain one of the best at Bayern Munich. He netted an incredible 55 goals in 47 matches across all competitions in the 2019-20 season and was the leading goal scorer in each of the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and Champions League last term as the Bavarian giants won a stunning treble.

He has already netted 20 goals in 18 matches in the ongoing 2020-21 campaign, and for his form over the past year, Lewandowski was recently awarded The Best FIFA Men’s Player for 2020.

In a recent interview, Lewandowski revealed how his career could have been having moved to Manchester United from Dortmund.

"After my second year in Dortmund, I had a conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson. He wanted me to come to Manchester. I was very interested. I can even say I was ready. But Dortmund didn't want to let me go. It didn't upset me more than that because things were going well with Borussia," Lewandowski told France Football.

When Dortmund blocked Lewandowski’s switch to the Premier League, Ferguson had signed Dutchman van Persie from Arsenal ahead of the 2012-13 campaign, who went on to help the Red Devils win the Premier League title in the legendary manager's final season.