Marcel Desailly: I signed a pre-contract with United

032Devil

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Desailly: I signed a pre-contract with Sir Alex 22 September 2010 - 15:15 | Sport.co.uk


Desailly: I signed a pre-contract with Sir Alex


Chelsea icon Marcel Deasailly has revelaed in FourFourTwo magazine that he had agreed to join Manchester United before moving to Chelsea in the summer of 1998. The French World Cup winner has also admitted Liverpool were interested in his signature.

Desailly signed for Chelsea in 1998 in a £4.6 million deal where he became the captain of the club forming a formidable partnership with fellow countrymen Franck Leboeuf.

However, Desailly has admitted he signed a pre-contract with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 1996 and was also closely courted by Liverpool.

He told FourFourTwo: “In 1996, I signed a pre-contract agreement with Manchester United. I spoke to Alex Ferguson on the phone. I was free! Bosman had just happened. So I was a free transfer! I won’t go into why it didn’t happen but if I had joined them I would have won several more titles! The challenge at Chelsea was interesting, though.

“The club was building, looking to go places and needed big-name players. Liverpool had come in for me, too, but I needed to have a French school nearby for my children. So I opted for London for Chelsea, for family reasons and for the quality of life.”
 
032Devil said:
Desailly: I signed a pre-contract with Sir Alex 22 September 2010 - 15:15 | Sport.co.uk


Desailly: I signed a pre-contract with Sir Alex


Chelsea icon Marcel Deasailly has revelaed in FourFourTwo magazine that he had agreed to join Manchester United before moving to Chelsea in the summer of 1998. The French World Cup winner has also admitted Liverpool were interested in his signature.

Desailly signed for Chelsea in 1998 in a £4.6 million deal where he became the captain of the club forming a formidable partnership with fellow countrymen Franck Leboeuf.

However, Desailly has admitted he signed a pre-contract with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 1996 and was also closely courted by Liverpool.

He told FourFourTwo: “In 1996, I signed a pre-contract agreement with Manchester United. I spoke to Alex Ferguson on the phone. I was free! Bosman had just happened. So I was a free transfer! I won’t go into why it didn’t happen but if I had joined them I would have won several more titles! The challenge at Chelsea was interesting, though.

“The club was building, looking to go places and needed big-name players. Liverpool had come in for me, too, but I needed to have a French school nearby for my children. So I opted for London for Chelsea, for family reasons and for the quality of life.”
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Ok I will.......

money-bags.jpg
 
Probably wouldn't have signed Stam, so it worked out nicely in the end.

Can you imagine if we'd have got both of them that summer though? That is one mean central defence.
 
mr.suave said:
Probably wouldn't have signed Stam, so it worked out nicely in the end.

Can you imagine if we'd have got both of them that summer though? That is one mean central defence.
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Why not? Berg would never have been signed the following summer, or perhaps Johnsen wouldn't have been signed in 1996. Pallister was sold to make room for Stam. Desailly-Stam would have been a great pairing.
 
What was his wage at Milan, surely higher than United could/would offer considering they had a wage cap in 1996 around 20-25k per week. It's no wonder the likes of Blanc, Desailly and others didn't sign on.
 
Desailly signed his alleged pre-contract with United in 96, we bought Stam in 98. So no reason we couldn't have had both which would've been the best CB pairing ever. Ever.
 
Talking about that moment, for some reasons I did send him a mail (in french) about joining Manchester United, and he replied back explaining why he joined Chelsea... quite tactful this guy... respect.
 
Would be interesting to see why we did not get him.

Desailly would have been a massive signing for the 96/97 side. He would have paired with Pally firstly and then eventually fixed with Ronnie J who was also a very good defender and signed that summer. Certainly good enough to win a CL with Schmeichel behind the pair of them.

That could easily have seen us not seen Jaap mind you. Even without the Berg signing I could not see us paying the wages of both Jaap and Desailly at that time period and we did not do to badly out of that.
 
Dans said:
This is pre Abramovich Chelsea we're talking.
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They were still spending big money during that time period on wages and player signings. Even Micheal Harding's death did not put the brakes on it. Only Newcastle, who were massive spenders, spent more than Chelsea during that period.

Di Matteo, Le Saux, Lebeouf, Zola, Vialli, Casiraghi, Desailly, etc. All big name signings and they were outspending us until the summer Fergie went for Yorke and Jaap.
 
Quinny1999 said:
Maybe thats why it never happened, Fergie backed out in favour of Stam?!?
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Probably not he says he agreed to join us in 1996 but didn't make a movie for Jaap untill 1998, I suspect like another poster says it probably came down to money this would have been at a time when United had a salary cap of about £25,000 max a week and Italian clubs where probably offering quite big money
 
Just think if Shearer would have accepted the move in 1996 (with Cole going the other way) and Desailly too. Heck, Cantona might have stuck around another year or two. And if SAF could have signed either Barthez or VDS in 1999. That's a friggin dream team right there.

1996-97
Schmeichel
Gary-Desailly-Pallister-Irwin
Beckham-Keane-Butt-Giggs
Cantona-Shearer

1997-98
Schmeichel
Gary-Desailly-Pallister/Johnsen-Irwin
Beckham-Scholes*-Butt-Giggs
Sheringham-Shearar
*Keane injured most of season allowing Scholes to find his position

1998-99
Schmeichel
Gary-Desailly-Stam-Irwin
Beckham-Keane-Butt/Scholes-Giggs
Yorke-Shearer

1999-00
Barthez/VDS
Gary-Desailly-Stam-Irwin/Silvestre
Beckham-Keane-Scholes-Giggs
Yorke-Shearer
 
This is the first I’ve ever heard of this. Surprising. Would have loved it to happen. Surely if there was a reason outside of lolly he would have divulged.

Paradoxically we could have ended up with Chelsea's early ‘naughties’ backline: Terry and Desailly.

The same time Desailly says we approached him; we also approached John Terry.

I remember reading (and I’ll try and dig up where) John Terry and Joe Cole were our guests of honour, or whatever the term is at the 1996 F.A Cup Final. The red carpet was rolled out. Obviously neither joined in the end, think it was said they feared braking into the first team. I believe Terry was a boyhood red, not sure about Cole.

But yeah, would have liked Desailly…. Didn’t we go in for him when he was at Chelsea too? I remember Ken Bates saying it would take Stam, Beckham and Cole + money before he’d part. Desailly was the wrong side of 30 at the time.
 
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