“I’ll go and get him…“: United great lifts lid on Sir Alex’s bold move for Liverpool legend

Manchester United have endured a prolonged lean period ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. The Red Devils won a record 13 Premier League titles under the legendary Scot, but are yet to lift the league after his departure. INEOS has revamped the recruitment system of late and things have looked up since caretaker manager Michael Carrick took charge in January this year. United are third in the league table after 31 games and are aiming for a top-four finish ahead of a crucial summer. The English giants are looking to upgrade their midfield and are expected to target Premier League-proven quality for the job. Sir Alex’s successful reign was built on careful recruitment as well as the promotion of talented academy youngsters. One player whom the legendary manager admired but failed to bring to the Theatre of Dreams was Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard. Former United skipper Gary Neville has now shared an interesting anecdote about Sir Alex’s attempts to lure Gerrard away from Anfield. Sir Alex wanted Gerrard at Old Trafford Speaking to Gerrard on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, Neville recalled trying to convince him to move to Old Trafford at Sir Alex’s behest. Neville said: “So, I have this conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson, which was quite a bizarre one.” “So obviously, this rumour mill started, I think, at sort of around you just before your contract was coming up to an end, was it? Around that time? End of 2004. I think it was around this time, wasn’t it? International break in March time. Yeah, and there’s rumours around you.” “I think Chelsea, it was the point where Chelsea were coming in to, and he just said, ‘Look, just go and knock on his door’. And basically said, ‘I’ll go and get him from Liverpool myself, and I’ll walk him back down the East Lancs.’ And those were his exact words. So, I actually went in with that line to Steven.” Gerrard recalled his response, stating: “He got the most polite, respectful, no,” prompting Neville to add: “It was the politest, respectful ‘f*** off’ I’ve had in my life.” Sir Alex Ferguson: Trophies won at United CompetitionTitles / Achievements Premier League1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13 FA Cup1989–90, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04 Football League Cup1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10 FA Charity / Community Shield1990 (shared), 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 UEFA Champions League1998–99, 2007–08 European Cup Winners’ Cup1990–91 European Super Cup1991 Intercontinental Cup1999 FIFA Club World Cup2008 Source: Wikipedia.United always had eyes on the best players in the league Sir Alex Ferguson took United to the pinnacle of success and built several trophy-winning squads over the years. The former Aberdeen manager’s ability to turn raw talent into world-class players is evident throughout his tenure, including his nurturing of Cristiano Ronaldo. Neville went on to outline how Sir Alex was not afraid of targeting top players from across the league. He said: “Chelsea were massively after you (Gerard), I think, at that time. And I think he thought, well, look, I can steal it. He’d had some ambitious transfers in the past.” “He brought Wayne Rooney, Eric Cantona. He brought Rio [Ferdinand] from Leeds. These were quite controversial transfers, you know. He’d dipped in on Kenny Dalglish at Blackburn over Roy [Keane]’s. It’s not even anyone you’re mentioning. It’s not even comparable. He considered it, he considered it… for three seconds.” Final Thoughts United are also looking for former head coach Ruben Amorim’s permanent replacement this summer. Carrick has done an impressive job since taking over from the Portuguese and recent reports suggest that he is the frontrunner for the hot seat at Old Trafford. Red Devils fans will now hope that one of Sir Alex’s disciples can finally get them back to their glory days. The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Deepungsu Pandit Deepungsu has been a Manchester United fan since 2000. In his playing days, he was an attacking midfielder with a proclivity for the back heel. Right now, however, he prefers to operate as a regista. Deepungsu has been writing about the Red Devils, Football, and other things since 2009. He has worked for over seven years with Sportskeeda, writing football reviews, opinions and news articles. Deepungsu also maintains a blog, The Thinking Me, where he writes about life and things that interest him. His favourite Manchester United player is Paul Scholes.