Daniele De Rossi lived the dream of all Roma fans, but he came close to following another career ambition.
The Italian World Cup winner is a legend at his boyhood club, having risen through their youth ranks to make over 600 appearances in an iconic 18-year spell between 2001 and 2019.
Regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation, De Rossi’s exploits with Roma earned him plenty of admirers over the years, including Manchester United.
And the Roman has revealed that he even met with legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson to discuss a move, but was too shy to admit how just keen he was to join the English giants.
Appearing on The Overlap, De Rossi told United legends Gary Neville and Roy Keane of his long-time admiration for the Red Devils.
He said: “When I was young, I followed a little more Manchester United.
“I was fascinated by your [club’s] legacy. And I followed football in England, I really like this [kind of football].”
He continued: “I was close to coming to England, yeah. It was my first option if I left Rome.
When probed on the English side he would have joined, De Rossi said: “It was Man United for me. I had some chances to go to other teams.
“But Man United was the one that I recognised. When I was younger, it was the best team in England.”
The 41-year-old then recalled his nerve-wracking talk with Ferguson about a potential Old Trafford move during the 2006 World Cup, which he went on to win with Italy.
He shared: “In 2006, once we were in the airport during the World Cup, and [then Italy manager] Marcello Lippi called me, he said: ‘Come’. And I came because I was scared of him.
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“And he called me and opened the door. He brought me inside a small room and there was Alex Ferguson in this room.”
“He was flying from one city to another to watch the World Cup. He said: ‘You have to go there [and speak to him]’.”
Aged 23 at the time, De Rossi then admitted that he found himself overawed in the company of the 13-time Premier League champion, despite it being an informal chat.
He went on: “I was shy because of him, because of Marcello Lippi as well. It was scary. It was a three-minute moment, nothing serious.
“But I would have liked to say: ‘Yes, I want to come, I want to come!’, because Manchester United, when I was young, was something huge.”
And while De Rossi would undoubtedly have picked up plenty of silverware had he joined Ferguson’s all-conquering side, he clearly has no regrets over his decision to stay at his local club.
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The former midfielder won three trophies with Roma, including back-to-back Coppa Italia titles in 2007 and 2008, and admitted he felt privileged to have lived out the dream of so many supporters and players.
He said: “It’s many other players [who have the same goal], and some of them are not good enough to decide to stay. Sometimes they go alone or follow other paths.
“But it’s a dream. When you grow up like a Roman kid, you dream about this.”
De Rossi bid farewell to the Giallorossi in 2019, and spent the final year of his career with Argentine giants Boca Juniors.
He returned home in January 2024 when he was appointed head coach of Roma following Jose Mourinho’s sacking, and led his side to the semi-finals of the Europa League that season.
Unfortunately for De Rossi however, a poor start to the current campaign saw him dismissed after just four Serie A games this term.