The striker could have ended up at Old Trafford during his career, at least according to the man himself, who has admitted he was stupid to turn down the approach.
Pančev has today been speaking to Sport Buzzer about his career and his former clubs, when he brought up the subject of Manchester United.
For those that don’t know, Pančev is considered one of the greatest players in Macedonian football after a career that saw him played for the likes of Vardar, Red Star, Inter Milan, VfB Leipzig, Fortuna Düsseldorf and FC Sion.
A European Cup winner, UEFA Cup winner and Ballon d’Or runner up, as well as a European Golden shoe winner in 1991, he was highly regarded to say the least, but his career never took him to England, with his move to Inter in 1992 arguably the biggest.
He joined the Italian side in a €12m deal in 1992 and won the UEFA Cup with them but failed to really impress in Serie A, lasting just two years before leaving on loan and them permanently in 1995.
Before the move he had been extremely sought after thanks to his goalscoring exploits with Red Star, something which had caught Manchester United’s eye according to the 58-year-old.
“I was very sought after at the time and had many offers, but unfortunately I chose the wrong club,” he said.
“Inter had an average team back then, in the shadow of AC Milan. I also had huge differences of opinion with the coach at the time.
“Nevertheless, in the winter I received an offer from Sir Alex Ferguson, who wanted to bring me to Manchester United. But I didn’t follow the call because I wanted to prove to the Italians that I could make it in Serie A. In hindsight I have to admit it was stupid!”
