Franck Ribery was deemed ‘not good enough for Manchester United’ when Sir Alex Ferguson scouted him in 2006

Funny story | Ribery (right) was deemed not good enough for Fergie
Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images
Standard Sport24 September 2017

Sir Alex Ferguson deemed Franck Ribery ‘not good enough’ for Manchester United after scouting the winger back in 2006.

The Bayern Munich star was then playing in his homeland, for French side Marseille, and the legendary United manager went to see Ribery during a Uefa Cup clash with Bolton Wanderers.

Sat alongside him was Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former communications chief, and a close friend of the Scot.

“Alex was watching Franck Ribery, the Marseille winger, but decided by half-time he was not good enough for United," wrote Campbell in his latest set of published diaries, according to the Sunday Times.

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History would that Ferguson made the wrong call.

Ribery would move to Bayern Munich the following year for €25million, where he would he would become one of the Bundlesiga giants’ biggest stars.

To date, Ribery has gone on to win seven Bundesliga titles and the Champions League in 2012-13.