Arsenal wonderkid Gabriel Martinelli was almost a Manchester United player.
The 18-year-old was signed last summer from Ituano for a fee of around £6million, but it's no secret that he was on the radar of several other European clubs prior to his move to the Emirates Stadium.
He previously had a trial with the Red Devils, but it was Arsenal who ended up taking the the gamble.
Head of international recruitment Francis Cagigao and Technical Director Edu are understood to have been the key figures in brokering a deal to bring Martinelli to north London.
And the teenager has revealed that he was on trial with United for fouy years which saw him meet first-team stars Marouane Fellaini, Patrice Evra and Paul Pogba.
"There was a partnership between Ituano and Manchester United which allowed me to go there every year, for four years, to train with boys my age or older," he told FourFourTwo. "That was nice, because I got a first taste of what English football was like.
"I met Marouane Fellaini, Patrice Evra and Paul Pogba, and made sure I got a photo with all of them."
However, Martinelli has revealed that United didn't make an offer to sign him and therefore he was able to slip through their fingers which benefited the Gunners.
"They didn’t make an offer, so I returned to Ituano and kept doing my job there."
With that said, United have company from Barcelona when it comes to missing out on Gabriel Martinelli as they opted against signing the teenager following a two-week trial just months before he joined Arsenal.
"Yes. I went to Barcelona in November 2018, stayed at La Masia and trained there for two weeks," he added. "That time, I wasn’t fortunate enough to meet any of the first-team squad because it was the international break – so no Lionel Messi!
"Everything in Europe was completely new to me, and I was really impressed with the facilities at these big clubs: the size of the gym, the number of pitches."
To read the full interview with Gabriel Martinelli, buy the new issue of FourFourTwo magazine which is in the shops from Thursday, March 5.
Also in this month’s issue, Marcus Rashford speaks about his hopes for Manchester United and England over the next decade, Erling Haaland explains why he decided to sign for Borussia Dortmund and siblings Reece and Lauren James discuss their futures.
For an exclusive Reach subscription offer, which includes three issues of FourFourTwo for £3 and free download, go to: https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/reach/ .
