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Lucas Moura Says 'I Was Very Close to Signing with Manchester United'
December 17, 2019
Tottenham Hotspur's Lucas Moura has said he was close to joining Manchester United before he made the switch from Sao Paulo to Paris Saint-Germain in the 2012-13 season.
In the summer of 2012, Sir Alex Ferguson said United were interested in the Brazilian winger, who was then just 19.
It was subsequently announced that he would move to PSG in January 2013, and he went on to win four Ligue 1 titles before moving to Spurs for £25 million in January 2018.
Moura has now said there was a firm basis to the rumours linking him with United, and he was close to moving to Old Trafford, per ESPN Brasil (h/t Goal's Chris Burton):
"Yes, there was a conversation [with United]. I was very close to signing with Manchester United. It was still at the time of Ferguson. I ended up choosing PSG, I spent five fantastic years there, I won a lot, learned a lot. I do not regret it. Despite the hard times, the bad times, I don't regret it because I grew a lot, I learned a lot. Now I'm here in the Premier League, and it's a new hope."
Moura, 27, has made 15 appearances in the Premier League this term, eight of them starts, netting four goals and providing an assist.
Four of his starts have come since Jose Mourinho was appointed as Mauricio Pochettino's successor late last month, and he has scored in Spurs' last two league wins against Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers:
The Portuguese manager has overseen four wins from his five league games in charge of the north London club, propelling Spurs from 14th in the table to fifth.
In the meantime, fourth-placed Chelsea have lost four of their last five games in the English top flight, meaning Spurs are just a win away from the UEFA Champions League spots:
In this season's edition of Europe's top-tier tournament, Tottenham were handed a last-16 tie against RB Leipzig in Monday's draw:
It will be a tough tie for Spurs but is definitely winnable, and it is preferable to the potential ties against PSG, Juventus or Barcelona that they could have drawn.