Manchester United failed in a move to bring Ivan Perisic to the club two years ago, something which his majorly regrets.
The Croatia stalwart was linked to United for years before joining Bayern Munich on loan for the current season, and he has now spoken out about the rumours.
The 30-year-old forward has been in fine form since joining the German champions from Inter Milan in the summer, but wishes he had the chance to play under Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford.
“How close was I going there? Very close,” he told The Athletic.
“It was an amazing thing for me when Jose called me.
“It was difficult to say no to him.
“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.”
Although United failed to sign Perisic, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spent just short of £150million in the summer.
Despite that spree, the Norwegian is aware that his team are far from the finished article.
He said: “In my own words? For me, it’s a team improving, evolving.
“I think it’s a young team, the culture is there.
“I see them every single day in training and we don’t have any issues with attitude, work rate or desire.”
United take on Arsenal on Monday as they look to get their Premier League season back on track.
