Liverpool flop rejected chance to join Man Utd despite being 'wined and dined' by Sir Alex Ferguson

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson went to extreme lengths to sign England International who was deemed a massive flop at Liverpool.

Sir Alex was reportedly desperate to sign Joe Cole during the early stages of his career.

Cole broke through as one of England's brightest young prospects and enjoyed successful spells at West Ham and Chelsea before a rather disappointing stint at Liverpool.

Cole scored just three goals in 26 league appearances for the Merseyside club and was actually sent out on loan to France during his three-year spell.

He has recently revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson was a major admirer of the English forward, and tried to sign him when he was a teenager at West Ham.

“He found me as a kid, around 14 or 15, then invited me up to Manchester United", Cole told John Obi Mikel’s podcast:

“You go up, they took me out for dinner with my mum and dad. I met Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs, and all the players. They really wined and dined me.

“He actually offered me the chance to come with the team before the 1994 FA Cup final against Chelsea and walk out on the pitch."

Cole explained that despite the "dream" offer he opted to remain loyal to his boyhood club: "As a 13-year-old boy, that’s a dream, but I’d already decided to sign for West Ham.”

At the time of Man United's offer, they had already demonstrated their ability to nurture young talents with the famous 'class of 92' winning the 1999 treble.

Despite Man United's obvious credentials, the generation coming through at West Ham had a major part to play in Cole's decision with the attacker also preferring the West Ham setup to the team he supported, Chelsea.

Cole playing for West Ham- Getty

"My West Ham team as a kid was the best team. I just liked it there. I was a Chelsea supporter. I used to go and watch them as a kid. You know the kids who sit by the tunnel and get your autograph", Cole continued.

"The academy at Chelsea for my year wasn’t very good. I didn’t want to play in a team that wasn’t very good.

“Rio was a few years older than me, Frank was a few years older than me, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe were below me. That’s why I joined them because it seemed like the best academy to join."