Lucas Moura reveals how very close he came to joining Manchester United

It's always difficult to differentiate between genuine interest from a club and general transfer bollocks thrown together by picking a prospect and team out of a hat, throwing a lofty pricetag in the mix and finishing with 'monitoring his position.'

Many thought that reports linking Manchester United with Brazilian speedster Lucas Moura in 2012 fell into the latter category but apparently, they were more legitimate than you might imagine. However, rather than move to the Premier League, Moura opted for life in Paris with Ligue 1 powerhouse PSG but, speaking to The Telegraph this week, the 23-year-old revealed how he was almost swayed by the Red Devils. “I was very close to joining Manchester United,” Moura said. “It nearly happened but, at the last minute, Leonardo called me and spoke to me and my parents.” It was Leonardo, the PSG director of football, who convinced Moura that France would be the more intelligent career move and despite it paying dividends now, Moura explained how tough a decision it was at the time. “It was a very difficult moment because suddenly I had to make a choice when I thought I was joining Manchester United,” he said. “I thought about it a lot; I talked about it with my family and I made my choice. Football is like that. You have to choose a team.”