United urned down the chance to sign World Cup star for as little as £5 million.
Manchester United may have missed out on a world beating prospect in Colombia’s James Rodriguez in the summer of 2010 as they rather surprisingly turned down the chance to sign the 22-year old for as little as £5 million, reports the Guardian.
The Red Devils’ boss Sir Alex Ferguson, in fact, spent £7.4 million on Portuguese striker Bebe, who has failed to make any sort of an impact at Old Trafford since his move.
Bizarrely, Ferguson also later admitted that he had not seen Bebe play before sanctioning a move for him.
United did not fully utilise their excellent scouting network in Argentina, and Rodriguez moved on from his initial club Atletico Banfield to FC Porto for as little as £4 million.
The versatile forward, whose stellar performances have drawn comparisons with Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, eventually sealed a big money switch to cash rich French side AS Monaco.
READ MORE: Manchester United transfer rumours.
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