Source: Man_City
Bellamy hints at United interest
| Submit Comments| Comments (67)| Printable Version1/1Play SlideshowClose MapCraig Bellamy has hinted that Sir Alex Ferguson was ready to make a controversial move for him last summer. The City striker, who eventually signed a year-long loan deal at Cardiff, said it would have been a ?miracle? if the transfer had come off - adding that life in Manchester would have become unbearable. The 31-year-old was shown the door by Roberto Mancini despite being a big hit at Eastlands since his £14m move from West Ham in 2009. He became a cult figure among supporters and would have come in for a torrent of abuse had he made the switch to Old Trafford. Though he didn?t go so far as to name United as an interested party, he suggested City chief executive, Garry Cook, eventually green-lighted his surprise move to Cardiff to fend off Ferguson?s interest. ?Garry Cook said to me it was the most phone calls he'd had on a player for a while,? Bellamy said in an interview with Radio Five Live. ?He said ?You should take that as a big compliment,? and I said, ?Yeah, they all seem to want me apart from the club I'm actually at.' ?Tottenham wasn't going to get done and someone else came in above them as well, which would have caused a few stirs. ?If I would have said I wanted to go there for one minute, my life at Man City would have been really tough staying there for the next couple of weeks. ?It would have been a miracle if it had come off. I sat down with my agent and we were realistic, do we hold out for it or do I go on? ?And I think because of the other club being interested, I think Man City panicked as well and said ?You can go to Cardiff,? and they pushed it through as quickly as possible.? Any move for Bellamy would have been one of the biggest shocks in football ? particularly as he is seen as a figure of hate among United fans. While Ferguson stunned football to sign former Liverpool striker, Michael Owen, in 2009, the Welsh international?s arrival would have been even more surprising. Some might have seen it as payback for City?s signing of Carlos Tevez last year ? but there is no evidence that United were ever seriously interested in the much-travelled forward who also played for Liverpool. Ferguson scoured the market for striking reinforcements during the summer, eventually signing £7.5m Portuguese prospect, Bebe, having already landed Javier Hernandez before the end of last season.
