Sir Alex Ferguson reveals why Manchester United didn’t sign the Spaniard.
Lack of defensive qualities cost the midfielder a transfer to Manchester United.
After joining rivals Manchester City in 2010 for £24m, Sir Alex reveals that he watched Silva at Valencia.
“We watched Silva a lot when he was at Valencia,” said Ferguson. “And the other player they had, the same type, years before it, played in that No.10 role.
“My problem with that was you have to be very, very good to play in that position, because there’s no defensive duties for them.
“So if you’re wanting to be be really successful, everyone has to do their turn, has to work, you know?
“So I had a difficulty with that. But, in the end, of course, there’s the greats.
“You could say Lionel Messi was a No.10 type, Maradona, some fantastic players, and I don’t dispute that.
“But at United we always found it difficult. The kind of No.10 I used came from my experience as a footballer.
“When I started to lose my pace a bit, up front, I started to drop in, into the hole, in a different way to the No10s you’re talking about.
“I realised then the defenders found it difficult to cope with it, so all my teams had one striker and one playing off. Not in the hole, but playing off the front.”
Since joining Manchester City David Silva has become a major a part of the team scoring 34 goals.
