Vieira dismisses United link

Patrick Vieira says that there is no way he would consider joining Manchester United.

Patrick Vieira says that there is no way he would ever consider joining Manchester United.

The Juventus midfielder has moved to quash for once and for all speculation suggesting that he is unhappy at Juventus and he could be set for a return to The Premiership courtesy of United.

Sir Alex Ferguson, known to be a long-term admirer of Vieira, would love to bring the former Arsenal hero to Old Trafford as a tailor-made replacement for the aging Roy Keane.

But Vieira says that, despite reports to the contrary, he is perfectly settled in Turin and he has no intention of returning to England.

"Let me clear one thing up," he declared in his autobiography. "I am very happy at Juventus and there is no truth in me coming back to England.

"And certainly not to Manchester United. In the end it went too far with Manchester United and me.

"To say I turned United down during my time at Arsenal is a big phrase because nothing was made clear. I was told United made me an offer - a very good one - and I don't know if they were told I wanted to go there.

"But I never met Sir Alex Ferguson. There was a lot of confusion and that was my fault."

Vieira claims that he was bewildered by the amount of people who became involved in negotiations over his future, as he continued: "I never knew if it was really United who were interested or someone trying to work for United to make his own money.

"But I never saw myself playing for them. I was well established with The Gunners, so it would have been the ultimate betrayal."