Pavel Nedved: ‘I regret not joining Manchester United’

Former Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved has admitted that he regrets never joining Manchester United during his illustrious career.

The 2003 Ballon d’Or winner was widely regarded as one of the most talented players of his era, but spent the best years of his career in Serie A with Lazio and Juve.

The 44-year-old now admits that he wanted to join United, although he revealed that Chelsea were the only Premier League club who expressed interest in him.

“A regret? That I never played for Manchester United, I’d have liked that. The transfer was never on the table though, there was only Chelsea,” he is quoted as saying by Football Italia.

“I liked the generation of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, who I admired. I was a little bit jealous of Karel Poborsky who played in Manchester and experienced great matches. I know he still feels that love.”

Nedved won three Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia crowns and the Cup Winners’ Cup during his time in Italy.