“I wanted to join Manchester United” – Robert Lewandowski reveals how close he came to Old Trafford move

Robert Lewandowski has revealed he had agreed to move to Manchester United in 2012, only for Borussia Dortmund to refuse to let him leave.

Lewandowski, 35 has gone on to become one of the best strikers in football history, excelling at Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Barcelona over the last decade.

But, in the years before, Lewandowski on several occasions looked set to move to the Premier League on multiple occasions.

First, Lewandowski famously almost moved to fellow North-West of England side Blackburn Rovers in 2010. With a deal agreed, it was only the Icelandic volcanic eruption of that year that grounded flights and prevented Lewandowski from moving.

Then two years later, it again looked like Lewandowski would be moving to England, with a deal agreed between the Polish striker and Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.

However, after Dortmund refused to let Lewandowski move away from the club, the forward was forced to stay at Signal Induna Park, something he recently explained.

“I was 22, 23 [years old], and it was after one or two years in Dortmund [when Sir Alex called me],” Lewandowski told The Sun. “You cannot say no [to him], it’s the prime of Manchester United, the prime of Sir Alex Ferguson.

“I was decided, okay, I want to join to Manchester United. But in the end, Dortmund said no. So I had to respect this.”

With Lewandowski’s move to United rejected by Dortmund, the Red Devils had to look elsewhere, instead turning to now-club legend Robin van Persie.

Van Persie would lead United to their most recent Premier League title, winning the league’s Golden Boot in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season before retiring.

Meanwhile, the Polish striker would go on to win two Bundesliga titles with Dortmund, before moving on to their fierce rivals Bayern Munich.