I snobed Alex Ferguson for six years after Alex Ferguson dubbed me a foolish boy for turning down Manchester United.
In 1988, Paul Gascoigne famously rejected Manchester United in favor of Tottenham, and Sir Alex Ferguson was not pleased with the outcome since the deal fell through while he was on vacation.
When Paul Gascoigne decided to join Tottenham rather than Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson was quite dissatisfied.
Gazza had finally decided to sign with Spurs when they agreed to meet Newcastle United’s £2.2 million asking price, even though he had already agreed to sign for United back in 1988. “Can I go on holiday, knowing that I’ve signed you Gazza?” Gazza had said emphatically “yes” when Ferguson had asked over the phone. But the agreement never went through.
Ferguson, who was still relatively new at United, had been desperate to sign a player of Gazza’s caliber, someone who could win games and championships. In 1987, he saw the gifted midfielder for the first time in a match against Newcastle.
Gazza made a noticeable impression in the First Division match, even if Newcastle didn’t play well under Willie McFaul. The 20-year-old, who was well-known for his love of Newcastle Brown Ale and Mars Bars, gave Bryan Robson, Norman Whiteside, and Remi Moses—the United midfield trio—a serious run for their money.
Although nobody was particularly physically fit in that era, Gascoigne managed to disrupt the United midfield in ways that few had ever done before. Ferguson focused on the midfield player who ended up winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award and being named to the PFA Team of the Year for that particular season.
Ferguson pitched the United proposal to the dynamic midfielder directly because he was so eager to sign Gascoigne. And he had done his magic, for according to the Manchester Evening News, the two agreed that a deal would be formalized and Ferguson could go on his summer vacation.
Following his agreement to what appeared to be the transfer of his dreams, Gascoigne relaxed in his hometown throughout the summer, visiting with old acquaintances before moving to Manchester in the south. He had a drink with Chris Waddle, a Tottenham man at the time, during that period.
Waddle said, “I went up to the North East one weekend,” to FourFourTwo. “Everyone knew Terry was leaving Newcastle, so he had granted me an extra day off and instructed me to speak with him about possibly coming to Tottenham if I saw my friend up there.
“I went up to the North East one weekend,” Waddle told FourFourTwo. “Terry had given me an additional day off and said that if I saw my pal up there, to have a word about him potentially coming to Tottenham because everyone knew he was leaving Newcastle.
“I made plans to see Gazza in a pub on Sunday at noon after reaching out to him. He entered with his group of friends in tow. When I asked him who he intended to sign with, he said, “Manchester United.” “Why don’t you come to Spurs?” I asked. I assured him that nobody would discover half of the things he would do if he got lost in London. He would always have Alex Ferguson and a few experienced players on his side if he moved to United. I told him Terry Venables would take care of him since he was very knowledgeable.”
The scholar made an infamous attempt to court Gascoigne by offering him several extras, such as a house for his
In 2009, Gascoigne told Sky News, “Maybe if I had stayed at Man United, I might have still been there.” “I’m not sure, but just take a look at these players and the group of young players—you see young Rooney playing, the Neville brothers, Becks—and how Ferguson [the manager] just brought them all on and there are so many.
It took me six years to contact Sir Alex again. I requested him to re-sign us over the phone when I was in Lazio. “I think everyone knows if you do something to Sir Alex Ferguson the way I did, you don’t get a second chance,” he remarked, referring to his relationship with Eric Cantona.
Given their respective trajectories, it appears that Gascoigne is the one who is harboring regret. With their new management, United continued to have unheard-of success, dominating the Premier League period and taking home a few Champions League championships as well.
However, it’s difficult to ignore the possibilities of what the United team of the early 1990s, which included Gascoigne in addition to Cantona, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, and Andy Cole, may have accomplished. More than anything, if Ferguson had done it correctly, it would have been one of his greatest management challenges and extremely rewarding.
Ferguson responded to the UTD Podcast when asked which signing he regretted missing out on. “In reality, you have to say, there’s only one that always comes to my mind and that’s Gascoigne,” Ferguson said. “He was outstanding. I genuinely believe he would have had a fantastic career if we had acquired him.”