Manchester United legend Gary Neville has claimed selling Jaap Stam to Serie A side Lazio was the biggest mistake of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Old Trafford career. Stam, who was one of the best center-backs during his days, spent three seasons at Man Utd between 1998 and 2001.
Jaap Stam Was A Phenomenon At Manchester United
In April 1998, Manchester United secured Stam’s services from PSV Eindhoven for a then-record £10.6 million ($13.98 million) fee, tying him down to a five-year contract. During his three-year stay at the Theater of Dreams, Stam won it all, including three Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League, one FA Cup, and one Intercontinental Cup. He was one of the standout performers as Manchester United became the first English team to win the Treble in the 1998-99 season.
After his world-class debut season, Stam seemed destined to retire at Manchester United. However, things did not pan out the way. Early in the 2001-02 season, United shockingly sold him to Lazio. Reports claimed Ferguson was furious with some of the comments he made in his autobiography Head to Head.
Gary Neville Claims Selling Stam Was Ferguson’s Biggest Blunder
On The Overlap podcast, Carragher asked United icon Neville to identify the biggest transfer mistake of Ferguson’s Manchester United career. Here’s what he had to say (via The Mirror):
“Jaap [Stam] was the biggest one where I felt at the time, it was questionable. And the boss has said it was his biggest mistake, hasn’t he, in his book?
“That was the one where I look at that transfer and think, ‘He’s the best centre-back in the world. No one’s beating him. No one’s beating Jaap Stam!’ He was just a powerhouse. Me and Denis [Law] could go forward, or me and Phil [Neville], whoever it was, and you’d leave Jaap at the back with anyone.”
He concluded by adding:
“He was a bit like [Virgil] van Dijk at his peak two or three years ago, where he’d just take the ball off ya! You can’t get past him. A player looks to run at Jaap Stam, and they’re just refusing it. They’re passing it! That was the one I felt wasn’t quite right.”
Stam played 127 matches for Manchester United during his stay. He scored once and provided three assists.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
