Inter's Sneijder admits that a deal with Manchester United was close

Wesley Sneijder, the Inter Milan playmaker, revealed yesterday he came "close" to joining Manchester United this summer.

The Holland international had been strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford.

"I had felt that a move was close, yes," Sneijder said to Dutch newspaper AD.

"There were talks on several occasions. The situation was that Inter had to sell a player - [Samuel] Eto'o or me. There was interest, but due to a combination of things, it didn't happen."

Inter sold Cameroon forward Eto'o to Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala, leaving Sneijder to remain at the Italian club. Sneijder admitted he would have been tempted to join United.

"They are one of the biggest clubs in the world, so it wasn't a bad option," he said. "But at the same time I didn't want to leave Inter. I'm in Italy and it's been great for me. I'm not saying I wouldn't have felt the same [at United], but for me it wasn't a situation where I felt I had to move, and there were a few factors that meant it didn't happen."

Sneijder joined Inter from Real Madrid in 2009 and helped them win the Champions League, Serie A and Coppa Italia in his first season.