Cody Gakpo, De Jong, Mane: Big Players Who Rejected Manchester United

• Top guns have in the past turned down an opportunity to join Manchester United by choosing their rivals instead
• Cody Gakpo was believed to be on his way to Old Trafford only for Liverpool to step in and snap him
• Sadio Mane and Ronaldinho are the other great players who are known to have bailed on Manchester United

Manchester United fans are still reeling from the shock that Liverpool has beaten them to the signature of Cody Gakpo.

All signs were there that Gakpo would become a Manchester United player soon only for PSV Eindhoven to announce that they had reached a deal with Liverpool for the transfer of one of the most exciting talents of World Cup 2022.

But, as Sports Brief delves into it, this is not the first time that a player has rejected what was in the past considered a dream move to Manchester United.

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1. Frenkie De Jong

This is probably one of the most-protracted transfer battles in history. Barcelona were ready to move on the Dutch midfielder due to their financial constraints but De Jong refused to budge despite Manchester United offering a lucrative deal.

Not even Erik ten Hag, a coach who had worked with De Jong at Ajax, could convince him to change his mind. United got Casemiro from Real Madrid instead.

2. Sadio Mane

At the end of a glittering career at Southampton, Mane was ready to try himself at a top-six club. Manchester United rolled out the carpet for him and he was set to swap St.Mary's for Old Trafford only for a last-minute call from Jurgen Klopp to change everything.

3. Gareth Bale

Former Manchester United manager David Moyes was ready to pull out all the stops to sign the then-Tottenham Hotspur player.

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Despite offering a larger payday than Real Madrid, the Welshman turned down an opportunity o link up with the current West Ham boss.

4. N'Golo Kante

Kante's rise to stardom is one of the best feel-good stories in football. Within two years, the Frenchman was a Premier League winner and had forced top clubs to recognise him.

Jose Mourinho attempted to convince Kante to snub his former side Chelsea and move to the Theatre of Dreams instead. Kante declined and opted to sign with Antonio Conte's side

5. Ronaldinho

Former Barcelona President Sandro Rosell convinced the great Ronaldinho to sign for Barcelona instead of Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.

Everything had been agreed on only for United to miss out on the Brazilian in the 11th hour.

Gakpo set to join Liverpool

Sports Brief has reporetd that Liverpool appear to have won the race to sign Dutch international forward Cody Gakpo after PSV Eindhoven announced an agreement with the English giants on Monday.

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Gakpo, who scored three goals at the World Cup for the Netherlands, had previously been linked with a move to Liverpool's rivals Manchester United.

"PSV and Liverpool FC have reached an agreement on the proposed transfer of Cody Gakpo," PSV said in a statement.