Pavel Nedved reveals biggest regret in football is not joining Manchester United
- Czech midfield magician also reveals he turned down Chelsea
- He won Ballon d'Or in 2003
- Was Zinedine Zidane's replacement at Juventus
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PAVEL NEDVED has revealed his biggest regret in football is not joining Manchester United.
The midfield magician is one of the greatest of his generation and won the Ballon d’Or in 2003.
He was a star for Lazio and Juventus and part of the Czech Republic side which finished runners up at Euro 1996.
But he reveals he would have liked to play for the 13-time Premier League winners — and that he turned down a move to Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to Czech publication, he said: “A regret? That I never played for Manchester United, I'd have liked that.
“The transfer was never on the table though, there was only Chelsea.
“I liked the generation of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, who I admired.
“I was a little bit jealous of Karel Poborsky who played in Manchester and experienced great matches.
“I know he still feels that love."
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Nedved was the star player of the Lazio side which won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1999 and a Serie A and Cup double a year later under Sven Goran-Eriksson.
When the money dried up, he moved to Juventus for £37million as a replacement for Zinedine Zidane.
And he won another two league titles (with a further two later taken away following match-fixing charges).
Pavel Nedved achievements
Czechoslovak First League — 1992-93
Czech Republic Football League (2) — 1993-94, 1994-95
Czech Cup — 1996
Serie A (3) — 1999-00, 2001-02, 2002-03
Coppa Italia (2) — 1997-98, 1999-00
Italian Super Cup (4) — 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003
Uefa Cup Winners' Cup — 1998-99
Uefa Super Cup — 1999
Serie B — 2006-07
Ballon d'Or — 2003
Czech Golden Ball (6) — 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2009
Czech Footballer of the Year (4) — 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004
Serie A Footballer of the Year — 2003
Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year — 2003
In 2003, he was inspirational as he led the Turin giants to a first Champions League final in five years with the semi-final clincher against Real Madrid.
However, a booking in that game ruled him out of the showpiece at Old Trafford.
Nedved still did enough to beat Thierry Henry and Paolo Maldini to the Ballon d’Or that year.