Ryan Giggs has revealed a fascinating anecdote from eight or nine years ago when Pep Guardiola labelled Marcus Rashford as the best player at Manchester United, even expressing a desire to bring him to Manchester City. This intriguing conversation unfolded during a dinner attended by footballing legends, including Sir Alex Ferguson.
Giggs admitted that he expected Guardiola to mention David de Gea, who was regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world at the time. However, the then City boss had other ideas, opting for Rashford instead.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel, Giggs recounted the experience:
There were about eight of us, and Ferguson seated me next to Pep. This was around eight or nine years ago.
I asked Pep: “Who do you like at Manchester United?”
He replied: “Who do you think?”
I said: “David de Gea?” He answered: “No.” “Luke Shaw?” — again, no. Then he said, “The best player at Manchester United is Marcus Rashford.” He even added that he would have signed him the very next day.
I was left wondering: what exactly does Pep see in Rashford? At that time, Marcus was playing as a central striker.
Giggs also shared that this past summer, he personally tried to persuade Elliot Anderson to join Manchester United. Michael Carrick was keen on signing the England midfielder, but in the end, Anderson moved to Manchester City for £116 million.
According to Giggs, he encountered Anderson on a golf course shortly before the World Cup and persistently urged him to choose United:
I literally bombarded him with conversations. At first, he didn’t really know how to respond, but then he started to relax a bit. For the first four or five holes, we kept running into each other. Eventually, he told me, “Can you just leave me alone and let me enjoy my golf?”
Ferdinand chimed in, noting that he too had attempted to convince potential recruits to join Manchester United but acknowledged the transfer fee for Anderson was beyond the club's reach.
