'I was in tears': Former Manchester United player reveals failed medical rattled him

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A move to Manchester United used to enthral the players in the past. Despite their doldrums at present, Man United are one of the biggest clubs in the world. But what happens when you fail the medical test of a proposed move to the Red Devils?

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince has revealed how his move to the club almost fell through due to a failed medical.

Paul Ince joined Man United from West Ham in 1989. The former England player made his name with the Hammers but then joined the Red Devils under Sir Alex Ferguson and went on to play 281 matches for them across all competitions in six seasons.

But Ince has recently revealed his Manchester move was almost jeopardized for a failed medical, which left him distraught.

"I was in the process of agreeing a contract with John Lyall and West Ham for the next three or four years," Ince explained while speaking to talkSPORT.

"I was living in a rough area where my car kept getting cut. It kept getting sliced up because it was outside a pub called the Pipers' Arms. Lou Macari came in - and the contract wasn't there. It was £1,000-a-week, and it was decided that, at my age, that wasn't something I should be getting. That was the start," he added.

Ince was so assured of a Man United move that he even posed wearing a Man United shirt during his holiday. But the move only happened after the break and Ince was thus wearing United's shirt while still being a West Ham player.

This angered the West Ham fans and Ince has since only received a hostile reception from the Hammers faithful. But after his failed medical, the former midfielder had to go back to West Ham. And the player says both he and his wife were in tears.

Ince, just 22 at that time, was traumatized to a West Ham return but Sir Alex Ferguson gave the green light which made it possible for Ince to switch London for Manchester.

"I thought, 'Oh my God, I've got to go back to West Ham now'. I was in tears, my wife was in tears. We agreed a six-year deal and I failed the medical.

"I had to sit in the stands at West Ham and I kept getting caned. Then I got a phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson and he said, 'We don't care if you've got a little problem with your groins. We're making this happen'. He kept his word," Ince concluded.

The move to Man United was not the solitary controversial thing by Ince, as he later joined Liverpool which angered the Manchester United fans.