Owen Hargreaves has detailed the persuasive conversations he had with Sir Alex Ferguson either side of signing to become 'part of the puzzle' at Manchester United. Hargreaves spent four seasons at Old Trafford between 2007 and 2011 before being forced to hang up his boots 12 months later.
Either side of an injury-hit spell at United, the former England midfielder played for Bayern Munich and spent a final campaign with Manchester City. Before swapping red for blue, though, he played part in three Premier League title wins and picked up a Champions League medal during the 2007/2008 season.
Hargreaves played the entire 120 minutes in Moscow and netted during the penalty shoot-out as United reigned in Europe for the second time under Sir Alex. That success was part of the bargain, too, as the Canada-born star recalls his early chats with the legendary manager.
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Speaking on the latest UTD Podcast episode, Hargreaves said: "I remember [when I arrived] he just said, these fans are very knowledgeable. It was a bit along the lines of 'you give them your best and they'll appreciate that'.
"Before I came, we spoke so much and he was one of the driving forces, one of the reasons why I wanted to come. Who doesn't want to play under Sir Alex?
"He has this authority, a natural authority that everybody respected, which was so important in a dressing room of 25 talented people from all over the world who are well paid. But he controlled the show."
On his conversations with Sir Alex before signing, Hargreaves added: "One of the things he said to me and I'll never forget it was; 'Owen we signed you to help us win the Champions League. You can be a part of that'. That was one of the big reasons I wanted to come. [I wanted] to be a part of this team, play at this stadium - and with these fans. That group of players we had was just out of this world. You just wanted to be a piece of the puzzle."
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