Sir Alex Ferguson Brutally Rejected by Dream Signing's Dad With Shake of Head

Sir Alex Ferguson once had his hopes dashed of signing a legendary player for Manchester United after the father of the defender in question simply shook his head when he raised the prospect of signing him.

Ferguson is perhaps the greatest club manager of all-time, having won almost all there is to win in more than 26 years in charge of United.

Between 1986 and his retirement in 2013, Ferguson led United to 13 Premier League crowns, five FA Cups, four League Cups, the European Cup Winners' Cup, the European Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup, two Champions League titles, and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Since his retirement, the Old Trafford club have never truly come close to winning the Premier League again, with a couple of distant second placed finishes under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the best they have managed in that time.

There were several players Ferguson tried and failed to bring to United over the years and raised the questions of what could have been.

An attempt to bring John Barnes in from Watford ultimately failed, with the winger later going on to join Liverpool.

Despite assurances from Paul Gascoigne to join from Newcastle United, 'Gazza' ended up moving to Tottenham Hotspur instead, while attempts to sign Alan Shearer were also ultimately fruitless.

AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini. (Image: Getty)

And another player who Ferguson had wanted to bring to United at one point but did not come to pass was AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini.

The now 57-year-old spent the whole of his club playing career at AC Milan, scoring 33 goals in 902 appearances for the Rossoneri.

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Maldini won seven Serie A titles, five Champions League crowns, the Coppa Italia, three Supercoppa Italiana titles, four UEFA Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and the FIFA Club World Cup.

The defender also scored seven goals in 126 caps for Italy before retiring from the Azzurri in 2002.

Maldini is Milan born and bred, with his father Cesare having played for and managed the San Siro club, and both his sons Christian and Daniel came through the youth team ranks there.

Ferguson once recalled meeting Maldini's father Cesare as he looked for a possible replacement for Dennis Irwin, but he was simply given a shake of the head when raising the prospect of signing the AC Milan man.

As per talkSPORT, Ferguson said: "Well I did try. But when I met his father he was quite formidable. I got a shake of the head. That's all I got.

"He did say 'my grandfather was Milan, my father's Milan, I'm Milan and my son is Milan. Forget it'."