Sir Alex Ferguson: Paolo Maldini's Father Blocked Manchester United Transfer

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he once attempted to sign AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini when he was in charge at Manchester United, but the player's father insisted his son remained with the Rossoneri.

The Italian icon represented Milan for all of his 24-year career and is widely considered one of the best defenders of all time. Ferguson recently appeared at an event and explained how Maldini's father, Cesare, wouldn't allow him to leave the San Siro, per MailOnline's Matthew Smith.

"Well, I did try, but when I met his father, he was quite formidable," Ferguson said. "I got a shake of the head, that's all I got. ... [H]e did say: 'My grandfather was Milan, my father's Milan, I'm Milan, my son is Milan. Forget it.'"

Maldini made 902 appearances for Milan and helped the club to the most successful spell of success in its history. The defender won seven Serie A titles, five European Cups/UEFA Champions Leagues, five UEFA Super Cups, one FIFA Club World Cup and more.

Born and bred in the same city, it almost seemed like fate that Maldini would achieve great glory at Milan.

Sports writer David Amoyal and broadcaster Deji Faremi hailed his versatility in particular, having cultivated a reputation as a world-class centre-back and full-back:

No other player has performed the same responsibilities with the same efficacy as Maldini, although Ferguson's defences during that period were nothing to be trifled with, either.

One can imagine Ferguson would have also had respect for Cesare Maldini's wish—he made sure the likes of Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs each left Old Trafford as a one-club player.

It was during the 1990s and early 2000s that Maldini—capped 126 times by Italy—cemented his status as one of the greatest defenders of all time and a player any manager would covet.

He retired in 2009 and collected the 2007 UEFA Champions League crown as one of his last major accolades with Milan, which served as revenge for their penalty-shootout defeat to Liverpool in Istanbul in the same fixture two years prior:

There's little telling what United or Milan would have become had Maldini left for the Premier League in his prime, but both clubs find themselves in sore need of a player matching his specifications today.