Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira has revealed he held secret talks with Sir Alex Ferguson over a move to Manchester United.
Ferguson planned to pair the French midfielder alongside his primary central midfield rival Roy Keane at Old Trafford.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Vieira admitted he met with the former Manchester United manager after Ferguson outlined his plans to rebuild the team around him.
"I had the opportunity to move to Real Madrid a couple of times and I even had an opportunity to move to Manchester United," Vieira said.
"I had a meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson. Full respect, I couldn't say no to meeting him because he was an important figure in the Premier League."
Vieira played for Arsenal between 1996 and 2005, serving as the heartbeat of the North London club during an era defined by an intense rivalry with Manchester United. Under Ferguson, United dominated English football alongside Arsene Wenger's Arsenal, with the two clubs sharing every Premier League title between 1996 and 2004.
Ferguson's midfield vision
Vieira explained that Ferguson shared a detailed tactical vision for Manchester United during their private discussion.
"We met and we talked and he explained to me his vision that he had for Manchester United and the team that he wanted to build," Vieira said.
"He wanted to play me with Roy Keane, (Ryan) Giggs on the left-hand side, David Beckham on the right-hand side and (Paul) Scholes to play behind (Ruud) Van Nistelrooy, so it wasn't a bad team."
Despite the manager's pitch, Vieira decided to remain at Arsenal, where he was established as a central figure in Wenger's squad.
"But I couldn't leave Arsenal, I was too happy there and we were on the way of building something quite really special for the club and that's the way it was," Vieira said.
"When you do well, of course there's teams who are interested and then you have to make a decision. But the decision for me was to stay at Arsenal because I felt the love from the club, from the players and from the fans. Everything was there for me to grow up as a player and to achieve what I wanted to."
Arsenal refusal and contract links
While Vieira did not disclose when the meeting took place, Manchester United were linked with a move for the then-Arsenal captain in the summer of 2003.
Reports at the time indicated Ferguson ordered the Manchester United hierarchy to explore signing Vieira, who had only one year remaining on his contract.
Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein publicly dismissed any possibility of a transfer in an interview with the BBC at the time.
"Patrick Vieira is not for sale," Dein said. "We have not had any inquiry from Manchester United for Patrick and even in the event of one he is not for sale."
Vieira stayed at Arsenal and captained the Gunners to the Premier League title the following season as part of the famous "Invincibles" team, completing the 2003-04 campaign without losing a single league match.
The triumph was the third Premier League title Vieira won with Arsenal before departing in 2005 for Italian club Juventus. He later played for Inter Milan and finished his playing career at Manchester City.
Highbury tunnel clash and rivalry
The proposed move would have combined two of the most intense rivals in English football history, as Vieira and Keane frequently clashed as captains of their respective clubs.
Vieira previously acknowledged Ferguson's interest as a compliment during the 2013 documentary "Keane and Vieira: Best of Enemies".
The pair had several famous altercations on the pitch, including a February 1999 fixture where both players swung punches at each other and missed. Their most famous clash occurred during their final meeting in February 2005 in the tunnel at Highbury, Arsenal's former home stadium in North London.
Speaking in the 2013 documentary, Vieira admitted he initiated the row prior to kick-off after warning United defender Gary Neville about his tackles on Arsenal winger Robert Pires.
"I started it. I was cool, I was really calm, I was smiling at him, and then he lost it," Vieira said.
"When we played at Old Trafford his tackling was flying in on Robert Pires and he was doing it on purpose, and I said, 'listen, we are not at Old Trafford here, this is Highbury.' So I said to him, 'if you touch Robert, I will come after you.'"
Keane explained his reaction in the documentary, stating he was defending his teammate.
"What really annoyed me that night was that you were picking on Gary, you were almost picking on the weakest link, so that's what got my back up," Keane said. "There were two or three of you ganging up on Gary, simple as that."
Since retiring from professional football, both former captains have worked together as television pundits on ITV's coverage of major international tournaments as well as on Sky Sports.
