Wesley Sneijder has announced his failed move to the Premier League.
The 40-year-old, who is considered one of the best midfielders of his generation, had two chances to transfer to England.
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During his time at Inter Milan, where he was part of the historic treble-winning team in the 2009/10 season, Sneijder was one of the best players in the world.
Just months after winning the Champions League, he led the Netherlands to the World Cup final in South Africa with five goals.
A year later, legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson almost poached Sneijder – the Netherlands’ record international player with 134 caps – from Italy to bring him to Old Trafford.
But even though he was very keen to join the company, his representative was blamed for the deal not going through.
However, in 2013, Liverpool dropped Sneijder in favour of Galatasaray after the Reds finished seventh in the Premier League.
Speaking to The Pitch Prospect about why he never played in England, Sneijder said: “I had two opportunities.”
“The first one was for Man United, that was the thing that my manager – my agent at the time – messed up a little bit.
“And later it was Liverpool, and I chose Galatasaray instead of Liverpool.
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“Just because Liverpool back then wasn’t the Liverpool it is today.”
Both United and Liverpool are now coached by Dutch managers Erik ten Hag and Arne Slot respectively.
And Sneijder believes United, who finished eighth in the table last season, have a better chance of winning the league against their rivals.
He explained his reasoning: “Because they have time to build something.”
“The coach will stay and they have enough faith in the coach to build on something. So I believe they will be stronger this season than last season.”
Comparing the two managers, he noted: “They are both good coaches.
“Slot has done a great job at Feyenoord and at United they are very confident in Ten Hag.
“He has extended his contract, as has Ruud Van Nistelrooy. I have just received the news that he will be there.
“I think they can do great things because they have great players at United. There has to be a team, they need time.”
“That’s how it looks so far. They are giving themselves time to build a team. I think they will be fighting for some awards this season.”
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