Roy Keane says Man United target was the ‘worst pro’ ever at his club, now he’s worth over £100m

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Manchester United have missed out on plenty of superstars over the years.

The likes of Alan Shearer, Ronaldinho and Gareth Bale could have found themselves on their way to Old Trafford, but all ended up moving elsewhere in a major blow to the Red Devils.

Of course, not every target would have gone on to become a world beater at United, but there understandably remains a lingering sense of what could have been.

Now, it has been revealed that Man United were once keen on a player who raised eyebrows for all the wrong reasons, only for him to become one of the very best in the world.

Roy Keane heard Ousmane Dembele trained badly at Barcelona

According to the Daily Mail, United swooped for Ousmane Dembele, then at Barcelona, back in 2020 after failing to land Jadon Sancho.

A loan deal was agreed after United rejected a permanent move, only for negotiations to collapse after the forward refused to sign a contract extension at the Nou Camp.

Barcelona had splashed out £100million on him in 2017 and eventually recouped just £43m for him when they offloaded him to Paris Saint-Germain five years later.

Roy Keane, speaking on The Overlap, said he was told that Dembele had trained poorly during his spell in Spain.

“I knew a fitness coach at Barcelona when he was there, and he said he was one of the worst pros he’s ever worked with,” Keane revealed. “He’s come through it all. He was a bit younger, and then he settled down and got married.”

Completing his stunning turnaround, Dembele was crowned the winner of the Ballon d’Or in a lavish ceremony in Paris earlier this week, making him yet another big-name United will regret not having signed.

That will surely have seen his valuation rocket back up to the £100m mark at the very least.

Man United’s Ballon d’Or winners

Only four Man United players have won the Ballon d’Or since its inception in 1956.

Denis Law was the first in 1964, while two years later, Bobby Charlton was awarded the illustrious prize, beating Eusebio to first place by just a single point.

George Best then held off competition from team-mate Charlton to emerge victorious in 1968.

Cristiano Ronaldo remains the most recent winner, bettering Lionel Messi in 2008 to take home the first of his five awards after amassing a whopping 446 points.