Ryan Giggs names three Manchester United players he never would have sold

The ones that got away.

The Manchester United squad would look very different right now if Ryan Giggs had had his way. Giggs has opened up about the recent transfer policy at Old Trafford in an in-depth interview with The Times, revealing that he'd urged the club's former manager Louis van Gaal to bring both Gabriel Jesus and Kylian Mbappe aboard, only for his advice as the Dutchman's assistant to fall on deaf ears. Giggs believes he was in the running to replace van Gaal when he was sacked after two seasons in charge but the Red Devils went in a different direction, opting to appoint a perceived safer pair of hands in Jose Mourinho. The Welshman has also named three former teammates he was sad to see leave Old Trafford, insisting that certain players simply epitomise the club's ethos. "There have been a lot who have come through that haven’t been United players and also players who were United players and shouldn’t have left,” Giggs said. "I’m talking about Rafael, Welbeck, Jonny Evans — players who are United through and through.

"It was hard because Louis had his own ideas and you had to respect that, but, yes, we had a few arguments about a couple of them. He understood [my position] because I had played with those lads, but they just weren’t for him. "Some of them, like Welbeck, wanted to play more regularly, and Jonny had a few injuries at the time, so you could understand it, but — and it’s not saying it in hindsight — recruitment hasn’t been great either."

Rafael was sold by United in 2015 and remains at Lyon, where he has already made 65 appearances, while Welbeck hasn't exactly been blessed with the first-team opportunities he'd hoped would accompany his move to Arsenal on deadline day in 2014. Evans, meanwhile, continues to be linked with a sensational return to United after signing for West Brom over two years ago.