German midfielder Markus Neumayr has revealed that he chose to join Manchester United over Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona.

  • Neumayr recently joined Turkish club Kasimpasa
  • In an interview, he talked about the clubs he turned down to join Manchester United

You won’t be alone in wondering who Markus Neumayr is. It turns out that he was one of many, many players over the years that Arsenal tried to sign but was rejected in favour of another club.

The 31-year-old German midfielder has recently joined Turkish club Kasimpasa and, speaking with publication Fanatik, he revealed how he turned down Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona to sign for Manchester United.

He said“Manchester United scouts were keeping tabs on my at the time. I was 16 and had received offers from Barcelona, Chelsea and Arsenal, but Manchester United were a special club. 

“You have to remember this is a team Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Van Nistelrooy and Scholes were playing for. It was a dream team and it was a dream come true to be part of this team. 

“I never regret joining United over the other clubs that made offers, it was a great experience and I made great friends like Gerard Pique who is the godfather of my child.”

Neumayr didn’t make any impact at United, and went on to play for Duisburg, Waregem, Essen, Burghaussen, Thun, Bellinzona and Lurzen before moving to Turkey. It seems Arsenal didn’t miss out on anything.