Vieira reveals why he turned down Manchester United after Ferguson talks

Patrick Vieira has revealed he turned down Manchester United despite sitting down privately with Sir Alex Ferguson to hear the Scot's plans for the club, according to Metro Football.

The former Arsenal captain, who spent nine years at the club before leaving for Inter Milan in 2005, told Sky Sports that both Manchester United and Real Madrid had tried to prise him away from north London during his time there.

Vieira said he felt he owed Ferguson a hearing given his standing in the English game, telling the broadcaster: "I had a meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson. Full respect, I couldn't say no to meeting him because he was an important figure in the Premier League."

He described the conversation as a genuine attempt by Ferguson to sell him a role in the United side he was building at the time, saying: "We met and we talked and he explained to me his vision that he had for Manchester United and the team that he wanted to build."

Vieira revealed the shape Ferguson had in mind, with himself alongside Roy Keane in midfield, Ryan Giggs wide on the left, David Beckham on the right and Paul Scholes operating just behind Ruud van Nistelrooy. He conceded as much himself, adding: "so it wasn't a bad team."

Even so, Vieira said his attachment to what Wenger was building at Arsenal made the decision straightforward, explaining: "I couldn't leave Arsenal, I was too happy there and we were on the way of building something quite really special for the club and that's the way it was."

He added that interest from elsewhere was a natural consequence of good form, but that his own call always came back to Arsenal, saying the pull of "teams who are interested" never outweighed what he had at the club, where he felt valued by staff, teammates and supporters alike.

Vieira went on to say that the environment at Arsenal gave him everything he needed to develop as a player and fulfil his ambitions.

His decision to stay paid off handsomely. Vieira won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups under Wenger, captaining the Invincibles to an unbeaten league campaign in 2003/04 and scoring the goal that confirmed the title that season among his 31 strikes for the club.

He was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2022, with a league statement at the time crediting him with redefining the role of a central midfielder after arriving in England as a relative unknown and going on to combine power, aggression and skill at the heart of Arsenal's engine room.

Vieira, now 50, is currently head coach of Senegal, having moved into management after a playing career that also took in spells at Inter Milan, Juventus and Manchester City.