Robben: I almost signed for Man Utd

Cape Town - Arjen Robben says he was ready to commit his future to Manchester United when he went to England to meet former club boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, in 2003.

Robben has revealed that he travelled to England where he had dinner with Ferguson, but a deal failed to materialise.

The Netherlands international said he felt confident that he would join United to team-up with the then young Cristiano Ronaldo.

After the deal failed, the former Dutch captain would then go and enjoy a successful spell with Chelsea under Jose Mourinho.

Robben told FourFourTwo magazine: "I had a very good conversation with him (Ferguson) over dinner in Manchester and we spoke about football and life.

"I also went and had a good look around the training ground and everything was good, but after I went back to PSV nothing happened.

"There was no real contact and the deal didn't happen. PSV were also negotiating with Chelsea at that time, so maybe they offered PSV more money? I don't really know.

"I spoke to Chelsea and I liked their plans. We had one meeting and everything was done pretty quickly.

"Had Manchester United offered me a deal straight after I met them, I would have signed there, but it didn't happen and I have got no regrets."