FORMER Manchester United star Lee Sharpe found out Barcelona were interested in signing him while in a HOT TUB with Jordi Cruyff.
Left-winger Sharpe, 52, spent eight years at Old Trafford between 1988 and 1996, playing 244 games and scoring 33 goals.
He won three Premier League titles, two FA Cups, the League Cup and European Cup-Winners’ Cup during his time under Sir Alex Ferguson.
He also went on to play for Leeds, Sampdoria, Bradford and Portsmouth.
But the opportunity to make the switch to Spanish giants Barcelona never materialised – although Sharpe knew nothing about it at the time.
It was not until he found himself in a hot tub with fellow ex-Man Utd man Cruyff that he discovered the Catalan side had been monitoring him.
Jordi’s dad, Dutch legend Johan, was manager of Barcelona between 1988 and 1996, an eight-year spell which saw him claim a plethora of trophies including four LaLiga titles and the European Cup.
And his son revealed to Sharpe that he was on the Barca manager’s radar.
Speaking to Instant Casino, Sharpe said: “I was chatting to fellow former United player Jordi Cruyff once in a jacuzzi of all places, and he was asking me why I never made the move from United to Barcelona.
“I didn’t know what he meant, I had never even thought of that as an option before he said that!
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“I asked him what he meant, and Jordi then told me that I had been at the top of his father – Johan Cruyff’s – shopping list for a spot in his Barcelona team for a couple of years while he was manager there.
“Apparently, according to Jordi, a phone call had been made to Manchester United by Barcelona, but I never got told about it.
“Who knows what may have happened if I’d have known about it!”
Sharpe also discussed former team-mate David Beckham and his surprise at the ex-England captain owning MLS side Inter Miami.
He revealed: “As a player, David Beckham was quite quiet. I know he always had a very outgoing media image and presence, but he’s a lovely guy and kept himself to himself.
“Sometimes he came out with the lads at Man Utd, but he always trained hard.
“I could have never have imagined him doing half of the stuff he has done in his career since we played together, he’s an amazing man who’s achieved so much.
“To go on to be England captain as well as a World Cup campaigner, and now owning Inter Miami in the United States, he’s up there as an absolute icon but also as an unbelievable bloke.
“I just never expected any of that to happen – I didn’t have him down as someone who could own a football club! I’m happy for him though and glad to see him doing so well with Inter Miami.”
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