‘Alex Ferguson asked me to walk out with Manchester United at the FA Cup final - I was a kid and was like, ‘It would be pretty cool though, dad?’ but my dad said no!’ Joe Cole on how he could have ended up alongside Red Devils legends

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The future England international could have had a front row seat for a memorable FA Cup final

Joe Cole 2006 World Cup
Joe Cole in action at the 2006 World Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

It was clear from an early age that Joe Cole had that X-factor.

Before he knuckled down at West Ham and burst onto the Premier League scene and made his Premier League debut at the age of 17, Cole’s early years saw him juggling trials and attracting the attention of the biggest clubs in the country.

Cole on his Sir Alex Ferguson invitation

Joe Cole Chelsea

Joe Cole moved to Chelsea in 2003

“I’d go for trials at Arsenal, Millwall, Spurs, Chelsea and West Ham,” Cole tells FourFourTwo. “On a Tuesday night I’d be going to train at West Ham, on the Wednesday, I’d be at Tottenham or Arsenal.

“Really quickly, I went from playing no organised football at all to playing with all the best kids in London at these academies. I found that I could handle myself, and I was very aware that I was a different type of player to a lot of the others.”

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, 2003

Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to sign the young Joe Cole (Image credit: Getty Images)

And it was during this whirlwind of activity that the young Cole was soon offered some unique opportunities.

“Sometimes I’d get tickets to watch Tottenham or Arsenal, and I was still only 12 when Alex Ferguson phoned me, after I’d been up to Manchester United for a trial,” Cole adds.

“That’s why Ferguson was the greatest – he was trying to compete for Premier League titles with his team, but he always had one eye on the next generation.

“I’m not saying I was unique, there were probably other talented players around the country who got offers to go up there, but he rang and asked if I wanted to walk the Manchester United team out for the 1994 FA Cup final at Wembley. They were playing Chelsea, the team I supported.

“By then though, I’d already made my mind up to sign for West Ham, and my dad was very much like, “You don’t lead them on.”

Manchester United captain Steve Bruce celebrates with the FA Cup, May 1994

Manchester United ran out 4-0 winners in the 1994 FA Cup final (Image credit: Alamy)

“I was a kid and was like, “It would be pretty cool though, dad?” But he said, “No, you don’t take something when you know you’re not going to go there.”

“So I didn’t do it, although I was at the game in the end, as I managed to get some tickets another way. That was a great day for Manchester United, but not so good for Chelsea. In the end United won it 4-0.”

Joe Cole’s memoir Luxury Player is on sale now, published by Seven Dials

Joe Mewis
Joe Mewis

For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.

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