Ritchie De Laet was sure his agent was having a laugh when he said a move to Manchester United was on the cards.
Halfway through a three-year deal with Stoke, where he hadn’t played a first-team game for the Potters after being sent out on loan to Wrexham, De Laet was considering calling it a day, leaving England and going back to Belgium.
But when his agent gave him a call and told him legendary Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson was interested in bringing him to Manchester, the former defender promptly hung up thinking it was an ill-timed joke.
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The ex-Leicester defender said: “I was ready to go back to Belgium after I didn’t get a chance at Stoke. United gave me an opportunity to go there, and even if it was just training I went in with the mentality I couldn’t lose.
“I called my agent saying I want to go back to Belgium to which he replied with, ‘You might be going Manchester United,’ which I replied to by pressing down the phone. I thought he was joking so I hung up. He called me back and said, ‘I’m not joking mate’.
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De Laet ended up making just three appearances for United but has no regrets about his time at Old Trafford. And he admits he owes a special debt of gratitude to United legend Gary Neville for taking him under his wing.
The former Belgium international, who turned 36 last week, said: “Gary pulled me sometimes after training and had a nice word with me. He was top quality. In training or games he wanted to win every time he played. That was great to see.
“I remember some of the games between the under-21s and the first team and if the under-21s won he’d go crazy against all the players in the first team at that time.
“He says whatever he wants to say as a TV pundit and most of the time he gets it right.”