I was on the verge of joining Man City from Man United – I left my medical to sign for Arsenal

Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre revealed he abruptly left a medical at Manchester City so he could move to Arsenal instead.

The former Red Devil won the Champions League, an FA Cup and four Premier League titles at Old Trafford. Despite his heritage in the red half of Manchester, he almost moved to the blue side of the city not long after Sir Alex Ferguson's team had won the Champions League in 2008.

It seemed all but certain that Silvestre would make the short trip to the Etihad Stadium for a modest fee. That is until his fellow countryman Arsene Wenger got involved and convinced him to move to north London.

Silvestre was speaking to Joe Hart in a recent appearance with BeIN Sports. The ex-left-back said: "Did you know that we could've been team-mates? In 2008, oh my god. It's a funny story.

"I was doing a medical, but halfway through I had a phone call from Arsene Wenger, and I had to call Mark Hughes and say, 'look I have this option to go.' And he said that in my shoes he would've done the same.

"In the middle of the medical I left to [go to] London, since then they only do the medical in one part. So funny."

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Silvestre originally signed for United from Inter Milan back in the summer of 1999, shortly after the club's legendary treble win. At that time, Gerard Houllier's Liverpool were also reportedly keen on signing him, yet he chose to join United's ranks instead.

The Frenchman, who earned 40 caps for his country, made 361 appearances for United, ranking him fifth among the club's non-British or Irish players.

Despite some fans' disappointment at his move to Arsenal, it would have been far more