Sir Alex Ferguson convinces Chris Smalling to switch from Arsenal to Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson convinced Chris Smalling to abandon his dream to play for Arsenal and join Manchester United instead. The defender grew up a fan of the Gunners and was sure he would join his beloved club from Fulham.
The north London outfit were in talks with the Cottagers as Arsene Wenger's reputation for developing rising stars interested Smalling. However, Sir Alex jumped in with a pitch that the centre-half just couldn't turn down.
He told The Athletic : "In my head, I was going to Arsenal. Then Manchester United got in touch. I was leaving the team bus at Blackburn away and [Fulham boss] Roy Hodgson said, 'We’ve accepted a bid from Man United.' That threw me. "I felt there were more opportunities to play at Arsenal, but I spoke to Fergie and he said, 'I wouldn’t sign you if I didn’t think you could play games.' Maybe his aura felt right, but I made the right decision because I was soon playing alongside great players and winning the league."
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Fergie's words stuck with Smalling and he joined United for an initial fee of around £8million, which rose to £12m due to appearance and performance bonuses. This was a major success story for a defender who had been playing non-league football just two years before his move to Old Trafford.
Smalling had been at Maidstone in 2008 and ended up at Fulham, who were paying him just £5,000-a-week. He quadrupled his salary by joining United but his former non-league side didn't receive a penny, as he was a non-contract player when he departed the Stones.
Arsenal had met Fulham's clause of £10m before United swooped in, but Sir Alex's words alone convinced Smalling to ignore the allure of Wenger and head to Manchester instead.
The Arsenal snub proved a wise decision for Smalling, as he would go on to win two Premier League titles and the Europa League with United. The defender also won numerous domestic cups and came runner-up in the Champions League final in his first year at Old Trafford.
Smalling made 323 appearances for United over a decade, scoring 18 goals and assisting three times. He joined Roma on loan for the 2019/20 season and became the first English player to score at least two goals in the same Serie A campaign since fellow United alumni David Beckham.
The centre-half joined the Italian outfit permanently for a fee of £17m and spent four years there before moving on to Al-Fayha. Smalling is now 36 years old and without a club, though he hasn't announced plans of retirement yet.
