'We thought we had him' - Man Utd legend reveals how he and Eric Cantona failed to convince Jude Bellingham to sign for Red Devils

Robson, a Man United stalwart throughout the 1980s, attempted to convince Bellingham to sign for the club in 2020. The 16-year-old met with United legends and Ferguson in 2020 at Carrington, but spurned the club's interest.

Bellingham was subject to interest from several top clubs before penning a long-term contract with Dortmund in 2020. United were among the curious parties, but were unable to offer assurances about playing time. The English midfielder became a regular at Dortmund, who paid £25m ($30m) for his services, almost immediately.

The former Red Devils midfielder admitted he thought Bellingham would sign for the club: "It was really disappointing. We were at Carrington and Sir Alex Ferguson was there a little earlier than I was, but Eric and I met him, and his mum and dad, and we were chatting away. “It was really looking promising that he was going to be signing for Manchester United... me and Eric did a rubbish job as he signed for Borussia! We thought we had him in the bag!”

Bellingham is set to be among the Madrid squad when they face Mallorca in La Liga play on Saturday. After that, he is expected to play a key role when Los Blancos take on Manchester City in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash next Wednesday, with the tie finely poised after a 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu.