Classic transfer: Man United spend £10m to sign world class Dutch defender
It's being reported that Man United have agreed a deal to sign Arsenal and Belgium centre-back Thomas Vermaelen. Going back 16 years, the club were celebrating the arrival of one of Europe's top stoppers – if Vermaelen proves to be half as good as Jaap Stam in the red of United, they will have bagged themselves a bargain, as talkSPORT recalls the Dutchman's spell at Old Trafford, starting with his departure…
“Will you please move to Lazio, quickly?” asked Sir Alex Ferguson of Jaap Stam, sitting in a petrol station forecourt as he brought the centre-back's tenure at Manchester United came to a surprising close in 2001.
It was a decision Ferguson would later admit to regretting, looking back to the success Stam had helped bring the Red Devils. During his three-year stay in Manchester, Stam racked up three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, the Champions League and an Intercontinental Cup.
Back in the summer of 1998, the Dutchman joined from PSV for a little over £10m and soon his defending won him praise around the continent. Stam was strong, passed the ball well, only dived into tackles when absolutely necessary (usually winning the ball) and finished his first season with the European Defender of the Year accolade, as well as that unique treble.
A combination of a troublesome Achilles tendon – which required him to go under the knife - and an ill-advised autobiography that generated negative headlines, helped bring an end to his time as a United player.
In his book, Stam claimed Man United had made an illegal approach for him, with Fergie alleged to have secretly met the Dutchman at a flat in Amsterdam to discuss a potential transfer.
Years later, Stam revealed that following the book's release, it became apparent the club wanted to get rid of him and things came to a head between Sir Fergie and his defender on the training pitch, resulting in the Dutchman getting in his car and driving off.
"On the way home I received a phone call in my car from Fergie's secretary," Stam recalled. "She said that he wanted to speak to me. He came on the phone straightaway.
"Ferguson said: ‘Where are you?’ I said: ‘Close to my house, at a petrol station.’ Ferguson said: ‘Wait there!’ He jumped in his car and came straight to me.
“At the petrol station he parked his car and got in with me. He told me that I had to be transferred.”
Serie A club Lazio was his next destination, after the Italian club stumped up £16.5m. Ferguson thought he'd seen the best of Stam, but four years later he was lining up for AC Milan in the Champions League final; in 2013 he had made a "bad decision" letting Stam leave.