Speaking in quotes picked up by the Daily Mail, Toni Kroos discussed almost joining Manchester United before Real Madrid.
“I knew beforehand that United wanted me. And Moyes absolutely underlined that. It was a really nice afternoon with very pleasant people… We talked a lot about United’s football plan, which convinced me.
“But we also got to know each other as people. We knew quite a bit about the Moyes family afterwards. We talked about how we lived and how we all imagined life as a family.
“In the end we broke up to do it. So we agreed verbally. The next step should be to look at everything on the spot in Manchester. The move would not have been that complicated – after all, we only had one child at the time, seven months old. It would all have worked.
“I’m not someone who thinks about hypotheticals. Yes, it was close. I almost went to Manchester United. But that’s not how things turned out.
“I don’t have these what-if-thoughts. Because there are no real answers to them. The only thing I can say with certainty is that I probably wouldn’t have won the Champions League three times with Manchester United.”
