Bayern Legend Reveals Why He Rejected Manchester United During Sir Alex Ferguson Era

Legendary goalkeeper Oliver Kahn has opened up about turning down Manchester United as he looked to build a dynasty at Bayern Munich.

The German stopper spoke to SportBild about why former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is still "mad" at him to this day for rejecting the Scot's advances in the early 2000s.

Kahn, who won the Golden Ball award at the 2002 World Cup, did admit hat he harbours some regret over not taking up Ferguson's offer to move to Old Trafford but, naturally, there's little he can do about it now.

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He revealed: "Sir Alex Ferguson is still mad at me today. He thought that I would move to Manchester United in 2003 or 2004, but I was more interested in trying to define an era at Bayern.

"Looking back, I should have done it then. It would have been a nice challenge for me."

Kahn is still far and away the shot stopper with the most Bundesliga appearances after he racked up a hugely impressive 557 starts for Bayern during his playing days.

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The 48-year-old won a whole plethora of trophies with Die Bayern including eight top flight league titles, six German Cups and the 2001 Champions League.

Kahn might have had two Champions League medals to his name had he not let in two last-minute goals against United in the 1999 final, and he went on to joke that he does look back fondly on that inaugural triumph for the Red Devils - just not the last few moments of the clash

He added: “I remember the Champions League final against Manchester United as a win – I just forgot the last two minutes.”

The 85-time Germany international, who retired in the summer of 2008, made 692 appearances in all competitions for Bayern and kept 249 clean sheets during that time.