Arsenal legend reveals secret Ferguson talks over Man United move

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Patrick Vieira has revealed that he sat down with Sir Alex Ferguson to discuss leaving Arsenal for Manchester United — and that the Scot's pitch involved pairing the Frenchman with his fiercest on-field rival, Roy Keane.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the former Gunners captain confirmed the meeting took place while he was still at Highbury, during a period in which he was also courted by Real Madrid.

"I had the opportunity to move to Real Madrid a couple of times and I even had an opportunity to move to Manchester United," Vieira said. "I had a meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson. Full respect, I couldn't say no to meeting him because he was an important figure in the Premier League."

The midfield Ferguson wanted to build

The detail of Ferguson's proposal is the part that will stop Arsenal supporters in their tracks. "We met and we talked and he explained to me his vision that he had for Manchester United and the team that he wanted to build," Vieira explained.

"He wanted to play me with Roy Keane, (Ryan) Giggs on the left-hand side, David Beckham on the right-hand side and (Paul) Scholes to play behind (Ruud) Van Nistelrooy, so it wasn't a bad team."

Vieira, though, turned it down. "But I couldn't leave Arsenal, I was too happy there and we were on the way of building something quite really special for the club and that's the way it was."

"The decision for me was to stay at Arsenal because I felt the love from the club, from the players and from the fans. Everything was there for me to grow up as a player and to achieve what I wanted to."

The 2003 context

Vieira did not specify when the meeting happened, but United were publicly linked with the Arsenal skipper in the summer of 2003, when he had a year left on his contract. Reports at the time suggested Ferguson had instructed United's hierarchy to explore a deal.

Then-Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein shut it down in no uncertain terms, telling the BBC: "Patrick Vieira is not for sale. We have not had any inquiry from Manchester United for Patrick and even in the event of one he is not for sale."

What followed is the reason the story carries such weight. Vieira captained Arsenal to the 2003-04 Premier League title with the Invincibles, going the entire campaign unbeaten. It was his third league title with the club before he departed for Juventus in 2005, later playing for Inter Milan and finishing his career at Manchester City.

The Keane element gives the revelation an extra edge. The pair were the defining rivalry of that era, from the missed punches at Old Trafford in 1999 to the infamous Highbury tunnel confrontation in February 2005 — an incident Vieira has previously admitted he started after warning Gary Neville over his treatment of Robert Pires.

Vieira had touched on Ferguson's interest before, calling it a "compliment" in the 2013 documentary Keane and Vieira: Best of Enemies, but the tactical specifics have only now emerged. The two former captains now work alongside each other as pundits on ITV and Sky Sports.