Former Old Trafford favorite spoke of his keen exit from the club
Jaap Stam revealed that David Beckham tried to intervene to prevent the Dutch central defender from being sold by Manchester United to Lazio.
Stam, who turned out for Old Trafford from 1998-2001, was one of the best defenders of the game when he was released by the Red Devils following controversial passages in his autobiography published by Daily mirror.
FC Cincinnati manager revealed that while that was a catalyst for United unloading him, it was a deal that surprised everyone, including his teammates.
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“Immediately after my arrival in Rome, I received a call from David Beckham,” he said FourFourTwo . “The united team had talked about it and expressed the general feeling that I should stay.
“My departure was a serious blow for everyone, since nobody expected it to happen. It was nice to hear from him, and it showed how close we were as a group. This made it difficult to leave, but given the situation at the time, I thought it was better for me to go. “
Stam also revealed the torment he suffered during the period when extracts from his book were released.
“When a document buys the rights to publish extracts from a book, they can make the titles of their titles – and that’s what troubled me,” said Stam.
“It kept me awake at night because I wondered what would have been in the newspaper the following day. Initially, Ferguson had told me not to worry about it, but on Wednesday, the morning of the game, I was informed that I would have to go to an interview with him the next day, because he was not happy.
“After the game, I went home and reported the next morning at 8 because I was eager to resolve the matter. I said, “You know what’s in the book – nothing wrong.” But he claimed he wasn’t happy. A week later, I was left out for a game against Blackburn. On the day, he called me to say I wasn’t on his team because of the hassle of the book. He felt he could calm down if I weren’t playing. We had some conversations, although none of them were really satisfying.
“A little later that week, I was on my way home from training when my agent called, telling me that I had been sold. I was like: “What?!” He said, “Yes, they’ll contact you in a minute.”
“Shortly thereafter, Ferguson called me and asked me where I was. We lived in the same area and he told me to wait for him to have a chat. I entered a gas station and met me there. When he arrived, he got into the car and told me that the club had accepted an offer from Lazio. It was a big shock. “
Stam continued to play for Lazio, AC Milan and Ajax before retiring in 2007.
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