The ex-Manchester United star says he was a wanted man
Johan Cruyff during his time as Barcelona boss(Image credit: Getty)
Former Manchester United winger Lee Sharpe has claimed that he was once ‘top of Barcelona’s shopping list’ - although he didn’t know it at the time.
Sharpe burst onto the scene at Old Trafford at the end of the 1980s, as the Red Devils began to gather momentum under Sir Alex Ferguson and would win his first England cap in 1991.
The exciting left-footer soon found himself in competition against Ryan Giggs in the Manchester United squad, with injury and illness also denting his playing time before he was sold to Leeds United for £4.5million in 1996.
Lee Sharpe in action for Manchester United (Image credit: Getty Images)
He would struggle to make a significant impact at Elland Road, with loan spells at Sampdoria and Bradford following before he made a permanent move to Valley Parade in 1999. He would hang up his boots in 2003 after playing in Iceland, with a career in reality television following.
But it could have been very different for the eight-time England international, who has revealed that he was on the radar of Johan Cruyff, during the Dutch legend’s time as Barcelona boss between 1988 and 1996.
“I was chatting to fellow former Man United player Jordi Cruyff once in a jacuzzi of all places, and he was asking me why I never made the move from United to Barcelona,” Sharpe revealed to instantcasino.com. “I didn’t know what he meant, I had never even thought of that as an option before he said that!
Johan Cruyff with son Jordi Cruyff at Barcelona in 1995. (Image credit: Getty Images)
“I asked him what he meant, and Jordi then told me that I had been at the top of his father, Johan Cruyff’s, shopping list for a spot in his Barcelona team for a couple of years while he was manager there. Apparently, according to Jordi, a phone call had been made to Manchester United by Barcelona, but I never got told about it. Who knows what may have happened if I’d have known about it!”
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Johan Cruyff won four La Liga titles and the club’s first European Cup during his time at Barcelona, with the likes of Ronald Koeman, Pep Guardiola, Romario, Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov and Gheorghe Hagi among the star players to feature in his side.
For more than a decade Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor, with stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others. He is the author of four football history books that include tomes on Leeds United and the England national team.
