90min

David Moyes reveals two superstars nearly joined Man Utd during his first transfer window

  • David Moyes opens up on ill-fated Man Utd stint
  • Red Devils only signed Marouane Fellaini during Scot's only summer transfer window
  • Moyes wanted Cesc Fabregas and Gareth Bale while Leighton Baines was also key target

By Sean Walsh

Moyes didn't last long in the Man Utd dugout
Moyes didn't last long in the Man Utd dugout / Jamie McDonald/GettyImages
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David Moyes claims Manchester United made strong efforts to sign Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas during his only summer transfer window at the club.

The Scot succeeded legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson in the Old Trafford dugout back in 2013, but he struggled during his inaugural season and was sacked in April 2014.

United went into that campaign with an ageing squad, and Moyes had hoped to bolster his ranks with a series of key signings. The only player they managed to acquire in the summer window was Everton's Marouane Fellaini on deadline day, while Juan Mata joined from Chelsea in January.

Speaking on the Up Front podcast, Moyes said United were aligned on trying to bring ex-Arsenal midfielder Fabregas back to England from Barcelona, while they actually outbid Real Madrid - who paid a then-world record £85m to Tottenham Hotspur - for Bale, but couldn't quite agree deals for either player.

Gareth Bale
Bale won the Champions League in his first season at Madrid / Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/GettyImages

"Both me and Alex Ferguson said 'Cesc Fabregas' and we spoke about him and he said, 'Yeah we'll bring Cesc Fabregas in'," Moyes revealed.

"Cesc had been out the team at Barcelona at the end of the season - we spoke to Cesc and Cesc had agreed if he hadn't been selected in the first game for Barcelona he'd have joined Man United.

"And the other part then was that I wanted Gareth Bale. We had made a bigger offer to Tottenham, made bigger offers to him, his agent, we all done it. We had a helicopter waiting to try and get Gareth.

"We had also wanted to sign Leighton Baines but going back to Everton was so difficult because of Bill [Kenwright, Everton chairman] and Bill was still angry that I hadn't dealt with things correctly and both in the end fell through. Gareth had his heart set on Real Madrid and I couldn't change it."

Fabregas remained at Barcelona for one more year before making his Premier League return with Chelsea, while Bale spent a memorable eight years at Madrid, winning 15 trophies.

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