Bayern Munich winger Ivan Perisic has conceded that he was very close to joining Manchester United in 2017 after Jose Mourinho personally called him to take him to Old Trafford.

Perisic was one of Manchester United’s priority targets in 2017 and the Premier League giants chased him all summer as part of their transfer strategy.  

 



Personal terms were also agreed between the player and the club, but Manchester United failed to reach an agreement over a fee with Inter, which eventually killed the potential deal.

Perisic admits that he was very close to moving to Old Trafford and he just could not say no when Mourinho personally called him in order to convince him about the transfer.
 


The Croatian admits that he felt disappointed at the deal not going through as he was excited about moving to England and playing for Manchester United.



“How close was I going there? Very close”, Perisic told The Athletic.

“It was an amazing thing for me when Jose called me. It was difficult to say no to him.
 

Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 76)


“In fact, I really, really wanted to join him and play for United. It was a dream of mine to play in all the big leagues.

“But it didn’t happen. It was painful for me.

“But I don’t want to go into the details. I only found out myself the real reasons two years later.”

Perisic joined Bayern Munich this summer on loan from Inter with the German champions reserving an option to make the move permanent.