Sir Alex Ferguson rejected chance to sign Zinedine Zidane in favour of player he didn't want to upset

Sir Alex Ferguson turned down the chance to sign Zinedine Zidane as he didn't want to upset one of his key players, according to former Manchester United chairman Martin Edwards.

It was a standout 'what could have been' moment in Manchester United's long and successful history. Back in 1996, after United became the first English team to win the double twice, United's chief scout, Les Kershaw, made a transfer recommendation for the ages.

At the time, Zinedine Zidane was being chased by a number of clubs following an impressive campaign at Bordeaux.

The previous season, Blackburn manager Kenny Dalglish had expressed interest in signing both Zidane and Christophe Dugarry, to which club owner Jack Walker reportedly replied, "Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?"

Footballer-turned-agent Barry Silkman also recommended Zidane to Newcastle United, but they snubbed his advice.

In his book, The Not So Secret Football Agent, Silkman wrote: "I wish I’d kept the fax that was sent to me from Newcastle United where the chief scout stated, ‘Silky has grossly overrated the player. At best he is good enough for Wolves, who are bottom of the Championship at present’.”

Those behind the scenes at Old Trafford were also impressed by what they'd seen at Bordeaux.

In fact, more than two decades later, former United chairman Martin Edwards opened up on why Sir Alex Ferguson decided against signing Zidane as he mentioned the presence of Eric Cantona.

"When Zidane was at Bordeaux, Les Kershaw, the chief scout, was telling me we should be interested in him and I mentioned it to Alex," he told the club's website.

"Alex said that Eric [Cantona] had also mentioned Zidane to him but Alex felt Zidane played in the same position as Eric.

"Having gone over to France to persuade Eric to re-sign for us, after the Crystal Palace incident [when Cantona was banned after clashing with a fan at Selhurst Park in 1995], he felt that, if he had brought Zidane in, it may have affected Eric's position, so he stuck with Eric."

Zidane during his days at Bordeaux in 1995. Image credit: Getty

Zidane eventually left Bordeaux for Juventus in a deal worth £3.15 million, while Cantona retired just one season later at the age of 30.