Kalvin Phillips recently joined Manchester City, and he’s now confirmed that Manchester United did want the midfielder.
After spending his whole career at Leeds United prior to joining Manchester City, Phillips will be fully aware of the rivalry between his former club and Manchester United.
The rivalry goes way back, and with Phillips being a boyhood Leeds fan, he will know more than most.
The England international has now spoken out on why he didn’t join Manchester United this summer, despite them holding an interest in him.
“Going to United? No, there was never any chance of me going there. You know my loyalty to Leeds. My family as well – they’re all Leeds fans. I was honoured that United wanted me, such a big team and one of the biggest teams in the world,” said Phillips, as relayed by the Mirror.
Phillips confirmed that United were interested in him this summer, and there’s a good chance they would have been able to offer him more regular game time than Manchester City.
However, that didn’t matter to Phillips, who cares too strongly about his former club Leeds.
“But no, I had to stay loyal to Leeds and choose to go to the other side of Manchester. It’s just the way I am, the way I think and the way I’ll always be. I want to be loyal to the people who’ve given me the biggest opportunity in the world. Leeds were the first team to sign me, I made sure that was one of the main things I’d do,”
It must have been tough for Phillips to even consider leaving Leeds after being there so long, and the affection he has for the team who gave him a chance is apparent.
