I was on the verge of signing with Manchester United, but as I sat on my couch, I got the news that the manager had been dismissed. The sudden decision halted my plans and threw the entire opportunity into uncertainty before it could happen.

Toni Kroos nearly joined Manchester United, but the deal unraveled when the club dismissed manager David Moyes. Moyes, who succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, faced mounting pressure due to poor results, leading to his exit after only 10 months. Before his dismissal, Moyes sought to strengthen United’s squad and had initiated talks with Kroos about transferring from Bayern Munich. At that time, Kroos, then 24, was ready to step into the Premier League under Moyes’ guidance. However, the unexpected sacking of Moyes during their discussions caused the deal to collapse.

In a candid conversation with SPORT1, Kroos shared, “In 2014, before joining Real Madrid, I had already reached an agreement with Manchester United. That would have been a move from Bayern to United, but then Moyes, who I was still sitting with on my couch in Munich, was let go, and Louis van Gaal took over. Both of us decided to part ways with gratitude.” Consequently, Kroos stayed with Bayern Munich throughout the World Cup in Germany and ultimately moved to Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti’s guidance.

Kroos’s career in Spain has been remarkable, yielding five Champions League trophies, five Club World Cups, four UEFA Super Cups, four La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey, and four Spanish Super Cups. “The World Cup began, and Ancelotti reached out—then everything was decided,” Kroos recounted.

During Moyes’ tenure at United, he also lost out on high-profile targets like Gareth Bale and Cesc Fabregas. Reflecting on this in 2016, he stated, “Gareth Bale was my primary target; I always envisioned him as a United player. We even made a better offer than Real Madrid, but he was set on Madrid. Fabregas was another close call, but we couldn’t secure him either. Sir Alex had hinted that Cristiano Ronaldo might return, but it never materialized.”