After most of Manchester United’s starting line-up died in a plane crash in 1958, Real Madrid offered to loan out Alfredo Di Stéfano, the world’s best player, to Manchester United. All the parties agreed, but England’s FA blocked the loan, because “it would halt the progress of a British player”

When Real Madrid offered Alfredo Di Stéfano to Manchester United

When Manchester United and Real Madrid locked horns in the last-16 of the 2013 Champions League, it was billed as “the game that the whole world wants to see”. Forget the bluster and somewhat nauseating media promotions for mundane Premier League fixtures, this fixture is box office. It may be a forbidden opinion inside the boundaries of Barcelona but this was the locking of horns of the world’s two biggest clubs.

They both possess the fan base, appeal and quality that the rest of the footballing world can only envy. That particular double-header saw a number of fascinating subplots unfold: Sir Alex Ferguson dropping Wayne Rooney, José Mourinho’s apparent self-made job interview and the return to Old Trafford of the supreme Cristiano Ro… Continue Reading (5 minute read)