Turning down Sir Alex Ferguson is no easy feat – but Arsenal legend Tony Adams managed it on two occasions.
The iconic Manchester United manager came in for two-time Premier League champion Adams at the height of his powers. However, Adams stayed on at Highbury and retired a one-club man, having made a total of 672 appearances for the Gunners.
That wouldn't have been the case had Ferguson got his way, however, in recruiting one of his major rivals' key men. The Scot had a habit of poaching players from his nemeses during his days at Old Trafford, but ex- England defender Adams went down as one of those who got away.
"Manchester United twice tried to sign me but I turned them down both times because I was Arsenal through and through," Adams once wrote in his autobiography, SOBER: Football. My Story. My Life. "The first time was after we had won the title in 1991.
"It was at an England get-together and Bryan Robson spoke to me about it, perhaps having been asked by Sir Alex Ferguson to have a quiet word. Tapping up? Of course, and anyone who doesn’t think it goes on in the game informally all the time is being naive."
Born in Romford and raised in Dagenham, Adams went on to join Arsenal's academy during his early teenage years. It's perhaps no surprise he was eager to see out his career in north London, winning four league titles in total, three FA Cups, two League Cups and a European Cup Winners' Cup.
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"The second United approach came in ’96, in the autumn just five weeks after I had stopped drinking and in that period of uncertainty when Arsene Wenger was taking over from the sacked Bruce Rioch," Adams explained. "I guess Sir Alex might also have wanted me because, as well as feeling he might be strengthening United, he might be weakening Arsenal."
It was another 20 years before Ferguson actually succeeded in stripping Arsenal of one of their most prized assets. Robin van Persie spent eight relatively fruitless years (bar one FA Cup ) at Arsenal before joining United in 2012, then won the Premier League in his first season at Old Trafford.
Alexis Sanchez also traded the Gunners for the Red Devils in 2018, though his switch didn't end up paying the same dividends. As for Adams, he was part of a rarer breed of one-club players that have become few and far between at the elite level.
Having spent the final decade or so of his career without winning any more major titles, there's no telling what he might have won had he moved to Manchester. That being said, Adams can hold his head high having retired with his honour completely intact.
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