Patrice Evra has told his France teammate Samir Nasri he must join Manchester United and not City if he is to win the trophies he craves.
Nasri's Arsenal future is in doubt after he refused to sign a new contract with only one year left on his current deal.
"I remember I made a little joke saying that he's a prince now but if he wants to be the king then he has to join Man United," Evra said in The Sun. "In five years, I've won 12 trophies and I don't know if I'd have won more than that with another club. So I just told him the truth."
Evra's comments come after manager Sir Alex Ferguson indicating that he may have shut shop for this summer on transfers and expected Nasri to sign elsewhere - with most reports suggesting that meant City.
But despite his ringing endorsement of life at Old Trafford, Evra admits he had asked Ferguson for a transfer last year. The 30-year-old said: "After the World Cup I'd told him I wanted to go. Sometimes you want to try something different. For family reasons perhaps there was a choice to move.
"In the end, I made the right choice and I'm so happy to still be a Man United player."
Aston Villa are close to signing up the Wigan Athletic winger Charles N'Zogbia after an improved bid of £9.5 million (Dh58m) had both clubs talking over the weekend.
Alex McLeish needs the former Newcastle player to fill in the gap owing to the departures of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing who left to Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.
A deal would also suit Wigan as N'Zogbia could leave them for nothing next summer when his current contract runs out, although a transfer now will depend on club owner Dave Whelan giving his seal of approval. The club played a friendly against UAE club Al Ain in Salzburg, Austria, and were held 0-0.
If an agreement is reached, N'Zogbia will hold talks over personal terms in the next 24 hours and undergo a medical before signing what is expected to be a five-year deal.
