Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand, has revealed that he almost convinced Croatia captain, Luka Modric, to join the Red Devils instead of Real Madrid over a decade ago.

Ferdinand said he spoke with Modric about coming to Old Trafford when the midfielder was playing for Tottenham Hotspur, but insisted that Man United’s board had already agreed to a deal with Borussia Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa.

Modric left Tottenham in the summer of 2012 to join Real Madrid

He went on to have an impressive career at Los Blancos, winning five UEFA Champions League titles and the Ballon d’Or, among others.

“I spoke to him [Luka Modric] before he went to Real Madrid because that is what I used to do." I was the player agent, I was agent Rio before I retired,” Ferdinand said on his FIVE YouTube.

“I said, ‘Are you leaving [Tottenham Hotspur]?’ and he said, "Yeah, I think I am going to go," but he was not sure at the time where he was going.

“I said, ‘Listen, you’ve got to come to the United States, man,’ and he said, 'Yeah.'

“But it did not happen. "I spoke to David Gill [ex-Man United chief executive], and the manager [Ferguson] at the time had already agreed with Shinji Kagawa.”