The Premier League player who demolished Arsenal’s star turned down Manchester United. The move decision is unknown.
The legendary Trevor Sinclair of Queens Park Rangers has admitted that he once turned down a chance to sign with Manchester United.
Sinclair had just recently started playing for QPR when the Red Devils showed interest in recruiting him. ‘Tricky Trev’ swiftly rose through the ranks at QPR after coming from Blackpool in 1993, and any early concerns about playing in the Premier League soon vanished.
The 51-year-old’s career may not have realized its full potential as a result of the injuries that beset the former West Ham and Manchester City player. But after leaving his imprint in the top division, he recently disclosed how close he was to signing at Old Trafford during an interview on the Ben Heath Podcast (via the Manchester Evening News
In response to the question of whether he thought the move “got away” from him, Sinclair said, “Not really.” Speculation, in my opinion, is inevitable when you’re performing well. When I first started out for QPR, I recall wondering, “How am I going to get in this team?” Owing to the caliber of players on my squad, I reasoned that this was a separate class. To try to reach even close to this, I’m going to have to put in a lot of effort.”
“Eventually I did,” he went on, “and that was because Gerry [Francis] worked with me one-on-one, made sure I understood my role, and then was able to trust me and give me the chance.” But I do recall playing in the ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ match under George Graham, with [Nigel] Winterburn, Tony Adams, and Lee Dixon.
“And I recall that when I played against them, I utterly annihilated them both. I wondered, ‘Is this as hard as it’s going to get?’ Winterburn moved from one side to the other wing and did the same to Dixon.
The famous person shared further insights on his path, indicating that a serious knee ailment impeded his early career growth. He had bragging rights before that, saying that facing Premier League defenders was sometimes “like playing in slow-motion.”
“So I got in the England squad at (I think) 22, pre-96 Euros,” he said. “I had a minor ankle injury that prevented me from playing for that squad, but it was still unfortunate.” I suffered a knee injury shortly after, which required a year off.
“However, I entered the England team as a maverick, someone who doesn’t really need to put in a lot of effort in the past, and I came dangerously close to earning an England cap before losing out. One of my biggest accomplishments, in my opinion, was joining the England squad five or six years later as a modified version of myself.”