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Why Gazza rejected the chance to join United

The playmaker became a national hero at the 1990 World Cup, where he helped his country reach the semi-finals with a series of flamboyant performances full of maverick personality.

But Sir Alex Ferguson and the Reds had tried to sign 'Gazza' a couple of years earlier, when the cult hero was still wowing crowds with hometown club Newcastle United.

However, the midfielder never completed a move to Old Trafford – something which both the player and our former manager have since suggested they came to regret.

Gascoigne has now opened up on the reasons behind his decision to reject United in the late 1980s, explaining that he did not believe he could dislodge Three Lions team-mates Bryan Robson and Neil Webb from the Reds' starting XI.