Ashley Young has revealed he turned down the opportunity to sign for Liverpool and Manchester City in favour of joining Manchester United.
The winger turned full-back signed for United under Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2011 and has explained why despite interest from other clubs the only place he was interested in going was Old Trafford.
"My agent called me and said: ‘Listen, you’re going into the last year of your contract, there are a few teams that are in for you,’” Young told Utd Podcast.
"He said Liverpool. We’d already spoken to [Manchester] City. Then he said United had come in. And I said: ‘When am I meeting Sir Alex? Where’s the pen?’ There was no other place I wanted to go.
"The history of the club, the players that were here, what they’d achieved. For me, that was the place I wanted to be.
"I wanted to go there and put my marker down on this club and play for the biggest club, for me, in the world. As soon as my agent said that... we didn’t even meet Liverpool!"
The England international, who has won five trophies at United, explained how a conversation with Ferguson further strengthened his desire to join club.
"I always remember the meeting with Sir Alex in London. I think it was probably a two-hour meeting. Ten minutes of that, we spoke about football, the rest was about horses and wine! It was one of them where the boss has just got that aura," he said.
"He challenged me and said you either sink or swim. That’s basically what it is, you’re going to be challenged every day. And that’s what I wanted. Ultimately, it was down to me to make the decision and as soon as I could sign here, I wanted to sign."
