10 Players Relieved They Didn't Sign For Man Utd

1. Xavi

Sir Alex Ferguson must still wake up in the dead of night drenched in sweat, with nightmarish visions of Andres Iniesta and Xavi passing his team to death in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals. However, it could have all been so different had the latter signed for Manchester United earlier in his career. Following the legendary Pep Guardiola€™s departure, Xavi found himself to be ousted from the set-up, treated €˜like a bad guy€™ for daring to be his successor. When the English giants made a move for the Spaniard, he certainly considered it.

''There was a long time when I genuinely thought about accepting United۪s offer and moving to Manchester. I needed a change of scenery and things were not going well for me at Barcelona. I have always felt a real attachment to English football and Manchester United would be my club in England. The truth was that for a long chunk of my career, when it looked like I was the successor to Pep Guardiola in midfield, I was made to feel like an outsider, a bad guy for taking over from the legendary captain. What made the difference is that I۪m as stubborn as a mule. I thought about going to United but I dug my heels in.۪۪ - Xavi, May 2011.

The 34 year old midfielder has enjoyed a wonderful career at the Camp Nou, establishing himself as one of the best players to ever wear the jersey, appearing over 700 times for the first-team. Trophies were plentiful, with seven league titles and three Champions Leagues among the highlights. Xavi was the fulcrum, the corkscrew, the cornerstone of one of the greatest club sides of all time - while the Manchester United offer may have been tempting, it will certainly not be one to toss over at night. So, that's a wrap - do you agree? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below.