Javier Hernandez moved from Guadalajara to Manchester United in 2010 and became the first Mexican to win the English top flight, earning two Premier League winners' medals. He scored 59 goals in 157 appearances for Manchester United and later spent two seasons at West Ham. He was ranked No.8 on FourFourTwo's list of the greatest North American footballers. Hernandez describes the transfer as surreal, recounting secretive negotiations led by his father and chief scout Jim Lawlor, an emotional reaction on learning of the move, and a phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson that confirmed United's strong interest.
It was like a movie! Hernandez tells FourFourTwo. Everything that happened was surreal. I didn't know anything and then my dad had a meeting with Jim Lawlor, the chief scout. I couldn't believe it. I cried. We kept the whole story a secret because Manchester United thought they could get a bargain and didn't want other teams to find out. At first, I couldn't even tell my agent or the rest of my family. When I saw Jim, I felt for the first time, This is real'.
One day, he called me while I was driving. I pulled over to answer and I heard Sir Alex Ferguson! That Scottish accent was so tough to understand on the phone! He wanted to make sure I knew how much they wanted me. Manchester United agreeing to play the first game at Chivas' new stadium helped so much with the negotiations.
Collection
[
|
...
]