Arsenal legend Alan Smith once snubbed Sir Alex Ferguson in a phone call before joining the Gunners.
Smith played for Leicester City between 1982 and 1987, where he scored 84 goals. His brilliant displays for the Foxes caught the eye of Ferguson, who was only a few months into his Old Trafford tenure when he reached out to the striker.
To Smith's astonishment, he received a telephone call out of the blue from the Manchester United manager in early 1987. But the ex-England forward, who recalls watching Coronation Street at his parents' house when his mum answered the phone, turned down the offer in favour of George Graham's Arsenal.
He told former Arsenal team-mate David Seaman on the Seaman Says podcast: "I spoke to Alex Ferguson. I was getting a bit of interest. One January evening, I was living with my mum and dad still and we were watching Coronation Street, I'll always remember it.
"The phone goes in the hall and my mum picks it up and she says, 'Alan, it's Alex Ferguson on the phone for you.' I thought she misheard the name.
"Alex had only been at United for about a year and they were struggling. So it's not like it was 'the Sir Alex' calling but he was obviously a big name, he's the Man United manager.
"I went into the hall and spoke to him. He said he wanted me to wait until the summer when I would have been a free agent. I said, 'Mr Ferguson, I'm sorry but I've made up my mind, I want to join Arsenal.' Arsenal wanted to sign me on deadline day, I had already spoken to them in a roundabout way
"It was a short conversation, I put the phone down and thought, 'Have I done the right thing there, saying no to the Manchester United manager?' But they went four of five years really without winning anything and Alex was close to getting the sack."
Smith joined Arsenal in March 1987 but was loaned back to Leicester for the remaining months of the season. Despite his initial reservations about whether he had made the right call, the next few years in north London justified his decision.
He made his mark for the Gunners by scoring in the historic First Division title-deciding match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Anfield in 1989. Graham's side ended an 18-year wait to be crowned champions in dramatic fashion, with Michael Thomas scoring the second in the dying moments to snatch the title away from Liverpool.
Smith was Arsenal's top scorer for four consecutive seasons and won another league title in 1991, as well as a League Cup and FA Cup double two years later. He also scored the only goal in Arsenal's 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup final win against Parma. He hung up his boots in 1995 and now, aged 63, remains a co-commentator and pundit for Sky Sports.
Despite a difficult start in Manchester, the failed transfer didn't hold back Sir Alex at United as he won his first league title in 1992/93 following his FA Cup triumph in 1989/90. The Scot, who celebrates his 84th birthday on New Year's Eve, went on to become the most successful manager in English football history with 13 league titles.