Philipp Lahm has claimed that Manchester United approached to sign him when Sir Alex Ferguson was still the manager, but the defender turned us down. In an interview with Squawka, he claims he was open to a move to the Premier League but is glad he decided to stay with boyhood club.

As a player you always think about your options, and there was a time where Manchester United made an approach for me – and Barcelona looked at me too – so I considered life in England or Spain. The Premier League was an interesting possibility. But in the end I decided to stay in Germany. Bayern is my home town club and I thought good things could happen for the club, so I signed on for more years, and it proved to be the right decision. I felt we had the chance to win the Champions League, and I was was right. I’d rather win it with my club, my home town team, than with any other. So England might have been nice – but I am glad I stayed in Germany.