Recently retired Germany icon Toni Kroos has revealed why he joined Real Madrid over Manchester United despite having a verbal agreement with the English club.
Check Out: Official: Varane Confirms Huge Career Decision!
The 2014 FIFA World Cup winner is considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, and this has a lot to do with his immaculate record in the UEFA Champions League.
He won Europe's premier club competition on six occasions, and five of those came during his time at Los Blancos.
Things could have turned out very differently for the Greifswald native, though, because according to him, he almost joined the record Premier League winners instead.
Having become disgruntled with the treatment he was receiving at the Allianz Arena following the 2013/14 season, Kroos decided to call time his career with Bayern Munich, eventually joining Real even though the Red Devils were very much in the conversation.
Having recently hung up his boots, the 34-year-old has pulled the curtain back on how his mooted move to Old Trafford back then ended up collapsing.
"In 2014, before I signed with Real Madrid, I had already agreed with Manchester United. That would have been a move from Bayern to United. But then they kicked out David Moyes, who I was still sitting on my couch with in Munich, and hired Louis van Gaal. Then we both declined with thanks," Kroos told SPORT1.
Moyes struggled in his lone season in charge of United after succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson as manager, getting sacked shortly before the end of the 2013/14 campaign.
Check Out: Man City 'Draw Up' Four-Man Rodri Replacement Shortlist
Kroos would have been one of the few marquee players the club signed under the Scotsman, with the only high-profile acquisition Moyes making during his United tenure being that of Juan Mata from Chelsea midway through the season for a fee of €44.73 million (R858 million).
