West Ham legend Paolo Di Canio has divulged details of a phone call he had with Sir Alex Ferguson in 2001 where he turned down the opportunity to join Manchester United.
The Italian maverick, who joined West Ham in 1999, was the Hammers captain at this point after the club gave him a lifeline in English football following indiscretions at Sheffield Wednesday.
Yet after impressing under Harry Redknapp at Upton Park, Ferguson called the then-33-year-old on Christmas Day in 2001 about a move to United - much to the shock of Di Canio.