Sir Alex Ferguson had been advised to sign two legends from Real Madrid by former Man United player Jordi Cruyff.  After having spent time in Spain while he was on loan from United at Celta Vigo, Cruyff had been asked by Ferguson to scout recommendations.

The Dutchman had urged the boss to go after two of his teammates from Celta at the time, Claude Makelele and Michel Salgado. Nevertheless, Ferguson had decided against moving two players and eventually made about 500 appearances for Real Madrid.

During an interview, Cruyff recalled his time in Spain. He stated that he had been at Celta Vigo for 4 months. They had Karpin, Mostovou, Makelele, and Michel Salgado, Mazinho, the captain of Thiago, and the Brazilian World Cup winner. Cruyff said that when you take a look at the names, you will know that it has an amazing team.

He said that he just needed to feel that he was a footballer again. Then Cruyff spoke about the brief that he had with Ferguson on his loan spell. He then added that he came back to Man United and the first thing that Ferguson had been asked was if there were two players he could recommend, who it would be.

He had suggested Michel Salgado can be a good right back and head given 10 years at Real Madrid and Makelele. The guy had been an excellent midfielder. Eventually, he went to Chelsea and had been the motor in the midfield. Hence, he advised him of these two and he did not anyone. He believes that he came up with a good list.

Salgado then won both the Champions League and La Liga when he was a part of Los Blancos. In the meantime, Makelele became the heart of Madrid’s midfield before joining Chelsea, the Premier League side, and helping them win their first league title.