Bayern's Ivan Perisic: Failed Manchester United Transfer in 2017 Was 'Painful'

Bayern Munich winger Ivan Perisic has opened up on the pain he felt after a 2017 transfer to Manchester United failed to materialise.

Perisic was at Inter Milan when then-United manager Jose Mourinho reportedly called the Croat asking him to move to Old Trafford. However, he told The Athletic's Raphael Honigstein he had to reject the opportunity:

"How close was I going there? Very close. It was an amazing thing for me when Jose called me. It was difficult to say no to him. In fact, I really, really wanted to join him and play for United. It was a dream of mine to play in all the big leagues. But it didn't happen. It was painful for me. But I don't want to go into the details. I only found out myself the real reasons two years later."

The 30-year-old joined Bayern on a season-long loan from Inter in the summer and has scored two goals and recorded two assists in four appearances for Niko Kovac's side.

Perisic—who previously spent four combined years in Germany with Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg—has been involved in a goal every 64 minutes this season and has proved himself to be a fine temporary signing for Bayern.

He recently combined with Philippe Coutinho to score his second goal for the club during a 4-0 rout of Cologne, as Fox Soccer shared (U.S. viewers only):

United may watch his form in the Bundesliga this season and wonder about what their attack might look like had they brought Perisic to Manchester.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has had to make do without Anthony Martial for much of this season, and the United manager on Friday told reporters Marcus Rashford is a big fitness concern for Monday's visit of Arsenal.

Winger Daniel James—a 21-year-old summer recruit from Swansea City—has looked like the Red Devils' most reliable attacker this season.

Perisic picked up one of his assists when Bayern beat Red Star Belgrade 3-0 in their UEFA Champions League opener. The veteran has left an impression on journalist Mark Rodden early in his Bayern tenure:

United fans may envy Bayern for the talent entertaining fans on their left flank at the Allianz Arena. However, a move to sign Perisic might have meant they never recruited James, who has taken his opportunity well and has fast become a favourite himself at Old Trafford.

Bayern confirmed they have an option to make Perisic's move to Bavaria permanent following his loan, which is reportedly worth €20 million (£17.8 million).