Source: Daily_Mail
Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer and Ronaldinho - Sir Alex Ferguson's ones that got away
It took six years for Sir Alex Ferguson to replace Peter Schmeichel but the Manchester United boss could have had a top-class keeper in place much sooner.[LNB]Ferguson admitted this week he turned down the chance to sign Petr Cech in 2001 when the Chelsea stopper was just 19, fearing he was too young. [LNB]The Scot vowed not to make the same mistake again and has snapped up 20-year-old David De Gea from Atletico Madrid.[LNB]Here, Sportsmail looks at the transfers that slipped through the United manager's fingers. [LNB]Paul Gascoigne [LNB]Ferguson has confessed that missing out on Gascoigne in 1988 is the biggest regret of his career, while Gazza adds his own tragedy to the tale by admitting it's his too. [LNB]Gascoigne was 21 and identified as one of the greatest talents of his generation. [LNB] Regrets, I've had a few: Paul Gascoigne was an England hero - but he never played for Manchester United[LNB]Ferguson recalled: 'We spoke to him the night before I went on holiday. He says 'Go and enjoy yourself Mr Ferguson, I'll be signing for Manchester United'. [LNB]'So I went on my holidays but Martin Edwards (then chairman) rang and said 'I've got some bad news - he signed for Tottenham. They bought a house for his mother and father in the north east and that swung it'. [LNB]'I think it was a bad mistake, and Paul admits it.' [LNB]United may have recovered to (eventually) become the country's dominant force but a serious injury at Spurs started Gazza's downfall in 1991. [LNB]Alan Shearer [LNB]It's rare that Ferguson misses out on spotting an exciting talent and even rarer for a player to snub a move to Old Trafford. [LNB]So when Shearer blanked Ferguson not once but twice, the United boss was left fuming after his league rivals picked up the pieces. [LNB] Goal machine: But it was St James' Park and not Old Trafford that was home to Alan Shearer[LNB]Ambitious Blackburn were first to pip Fergie in 1992 when they paid a British record ?3.6million to Southampton for the striker after achieving promotion to the Premier League. [LNB]By the time Rovers were on the decline in 1996, the vultures circled before Fergie was trumped again, this time by Shearer's boyhood club Newcastle who paid a world record ?15m. [LNB]You can't win them all. [LNB]Ronaldinho[LNB]Following the sale of David Beckham, Ferguson had money to burn in 2003 and was hot on the case of Paris St Germain's Brazilian star to headline his summer signings.[LNB]United were favourites to land the forward, with PSG officials going as far as saying they were '99.9 per cent sure he would leave for Manchester.'[LNB] Samba superstar: Ronaldinho was a target for Manchester United boss Ferguson[LNB]But with chief executive Peter Kenyon in charge of securing the deal, United somehow lost out in a bidding war to Barcelona, who themselves had earlier in the summer failed in a bid to sign Beckham.[LNB]Ferguson was less than pleased to put it mildly and could only watch as the buck-toothed Brazilian went on to win World Player of the Year twice while at the Catalan Giants.[LNB]Arjen Robben [LNB]United were struggling to defend their title in 2003/04 and to prepare for the following season, targeted the exciting Dutchman to improve their fortunes. [LNB] Dutch of class: Arjen Robben opted for Chelsea - much to the delight of the Blues faithful[LNB]The deal was all but done, with the player even being given a tour of Old Trafford. But before it was set in stone chief executive Kenyon moved to Chelsea and engineered a huge U-turn to take the winger to Stamford Bridge instead. [LNB]Fergie was left with a Ronaldo yet to find his feet and a couple more years in the wilderness as Chelsea galloped off to consecutive Premier League titles with Robben playing a starring role. [LNB]Gareth Bale [LNB]Once again that pesky side from north London scuppered Ferguson's plans of signing British talent when the Welshman moved to White Hart Lane from Southampton in 2007. [LNB]This time Ferguson could only blame himself after baulking at Spurs' offer of ?5million plus add-ons. [LNB] Seems like such a long time ago: Gareth Bale laps up the applause while starring for Southampton[LNB]Ferguson said: 'We tried to sign him from as a 17-year-old. But it never got to the stage of talking to the player. [LNB]'They didn't accept our offer and I think they must have alerted Tottenham. I don't know the full circumstances but, listen, you try to get the best deal you can. We made a good offer but they turned it down.' [LNB] Kaka[LNB] If you thought the Da Silva brothers were the first Brazilian siblings to be targeted by Ferguson think again. [LNB]Early in their AC Milan careers, Kaka and his brother Digao were targeted by the United boss but as Manchester City found out a couple of years later, the duo preferred northern Italy to northern England. [LNB] Another one bites the dust: Both Manchester clubs fancied snapping up Kaka (left)[LNB]The 29-year-old simply stated: 'Once he wanted to sign me and my brother while we were with Milan, but we chose to stay.' [LNB]Kaka joined Real Madrid in 2009 but has struggled to recapture his best form. Digao is still at Milan but the centre-back has struggled to develop and has failed to break into the first team. [LNB]P.S He even missed out on Edwin van der Sar [LNB]Ferguson's troubles in attempting to replace Schmeichel in 1999 have been well documented but it didn't have to take six years for someone to fill the Dane's big gloves. [LNB] Is this the way to the Premier League? Edwin van der Sar during his Juventus days[LNB]Van der Sar was at Juventus at the time and was Ferguson's first choice, but found a big stumbling block in his pursuit of the Dutchman. [LNB]Ferguson said: 'We really should have gone for him when Schmeichel left, but (former chairman) Martin Edwards had an agreement with Mark Bosnich at the time that took the wind out of our sails. So we couldn't get Edwin, but I'd have loved to have got him.[LNB] CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE FANTASY FOOTBALL GAMEI had to gamble on young De Gea after Cech blunder, admits FergusonShow us more respect! 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