Many football fans have dreamed about sitting down with Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson and being told their future lies at their club.
Aaron Ramsey can go one better: he had both managerial legends fighting it out to sign him from Cardiff City in the summer of 2008. Arsenal and Manchester United were both desperate to sign Ramsey, who was one of the most highly-touted youngsters in English football after breaking through at the Bluebirds and featuring in the 2008 FA Cup final, aged 17.
Back then, the Red Devils had just been crowned Premier League champions, thanks to a young side featuring the likes of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. Ramsey's own father was a big Man United fan as well, leading many to believe Fergie would pip his rival to the youngster's signature. But things panned out differently.
"I was always a Cardiff supporter, but my dad was a Manchester United fan and I watched them quite a lot with him," Ramsey tells FourFourTwo now. "It was a strange time in my life, to have two teams I’d watched so much as a child showing interest in me. I spoke to both managers on the phone a few times. I was 17 years old and I was getting voicemails from Fergie and Arsene Wenger! It was mad."
Ramsey eventually signed for the Gunners in a £5 million deal in July 2008. He recalls being starstruck on his first day in training.
"Arsenal felt like the right decision for me. I remember showing up to training on my first day and seeing Kolo Toure, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor, William Gallas... I had to pinch myself. I was like, ‘What on Earth am I doing here?’ It was an exciting time for me."
It didn't turn out to be a bad choice either. While United were the more successful side, Ramsey played an integral role to Arsenal's own successes over the succeeding 11 years, making more than 350 appearances and scoring 64 goals for the Londoners. Ramsey won three FA Cups (scoring the winning goal in two finals) before departing for Juventus in 2019. He's recently re-joined Cardiff at the age of 32.
Read the full interview with Ramsey in the current issue of FourFourTwo, in shops now or BUY HERE WITH FREE DELIVERY
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