“I am a winner, I play for prizes.”
Wesley Sneijder was linked with a transfer to Manchester United in almost every transfer windows between 2010 and 2013, but the move never materialised. It turns out, he could have ended up playing against them in the Premier League for one of their main rivals.
The Dutch playmaker was one of the best footballers in the world for a short period in 2010. He was the star of Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan, which won a treble of trophies that year, including the Champions League.
Sneijder then scored five goals at the 2010 World Cup, helping the Netherlands to the final, where they lost to Spain in extra-time. When Mourinho left for Real Madrid, Inter hit a slump, and Sneijder was repeatedly linked with a move to United.
Sneijder joined Galatasaray in January 2013 instead, where he stayed until joining Nice in France on a free transfer last summer. The 33-year-old’s stay only lasted five months, and he’s currently playing for Al-Gharafa in Qatar.
However, before leaving for Turkey, the former Real Madrid and Ajax midfielder reportedly had a chance to join Liverpool, rather than their rivals United. Sneijder said he rejected the Anfield club because he wanted to win titles, and he thought he had a greater chance of achieving that at Galatasaray, rather than Liverpool.
“Many clubs wanted to know when I was leaving Inter, and Liverpool was one of those clubs, so people were surprised I chose Galatasaray,” Sneijder said, according to The Liverpool Echo.
“Why Galatasaray and not Liverpool? But I am a winner, I play for prizes, so I went to Galatasaray because I thought that I would win more at Galatasaray and be champion than at Liverpool, and I think afterwards that I made the right choice. I have had nice years in Turkey.”
In his four years at Galatasaray, Sneijder won two league titles and three Turkish cups. In that time, Liverpool failed to win a trophy. Although it’s possible Sneijder could have played a part in their title-challenge in 2014 when Brendan Rodgers was the manager.
