Former Man Utd Captain Reveals He Nearly Joined Liverpool Prior to Old Trafford Move

Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidić has revealed that he was speaking to Liverpool about a move to the Premier League before the Red Devils had even declared an interest in the Serbian defender.

However, Vidić claimes that officials from Anfield were stalling over the deal and that allowed Manchester United to swoop in, sealing a deal for the then Spartak Moscow centre-back in just two days.

"Yes, Liverpool came to me first," Vidić told the Daily Mail. "We spoke in the car. My wife did the translating. I didn’t say no to them. It was always 'going to happen, going to happen'. I don’t know what the problem was but it didn’t happen.

"But then United came and after two days, everything was done. Liverpool [finally] said they wanted to do the deal but everything was arranged with United."

Vidić would go on to make exactly 300 appearances for Manchester United, scoring an impressive 21 goals. The former Serbia defender also racked up eight red cards during his time at Old Trafford - half of which came against Liverpool.

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"It is still the biggest game in the Premier League,’ Vidic added ahead of the Reds' trip to Old Trafford on Saturday. "The amount of titles both Liverpool and United have won - you can never lose respect for that.

"What Man City have been doing makes that particular game more interesting. But it is still Liverpool and United."