10 Liverpool Players Who Nearly Signed for Man United

8. Djibril Cisse

The speedy Frenchman with a different haircut for each day of the week - beyond the superficial exterior, lay a potent clinician with an eye for goal. With frightening pace to burn, he was hailed as the 'next Thierry Henry', so it was no surprise when Manchester United tried to jump to the head of the queue for his signature in 2002. Invited to watch Manchester United's defeat to Blackburn in 2002 at the behest of compatriot Laurent Blanc, Ferguson was hoping to coax the 21 year old into seeing his future at the Theatre of Dreams. In the end, a move never materialised, with Auxerre boss Guy Roux adamant that Cisse would only be sold in the summer at the earliest, with the French club still challenging on a European front. By then, their attentions had turned to the 23 year old centre-back Rio Ferdinand, with the Manchester United hierarchy splurging their entire transfer kitty on him in a £29.1 million deal. As a result, the door was left wide open for Gerard Houllier to strike an agreement with the speedy maverick, and a blossoming relationship with the Anfield faithful was borne.