Man Utd 'had helicopter waiting' as Fabregas and Gareth Bale transfers collapsed

Manchester United had a helicopter lined up for Gareth Bale before he snubbed them for Real Madrid as David Moyes confessed his only summer at Old Trafford was "terrible".

The ex-Everton boss was announced as Sir Alex Ferguson's successor as he attempted to pick up where the iconic manager left off. From minute one though Moyes was up against it as several of his transfer targets turned down moves to Manchester.

The Scottish manager didn't last a season with Marouane Fellaini his only notable signing during a period where the Red Devils hoped to land Bale and Cesc Fabregas. The Welshman had just been named the PFA Player of the Year and Fabregas was in and out of the Barcelona starting XI.

United had plans to land both men - coughing up more money than Real's world record bid for Bale and plotting ways to get Fabregas out of the Nou Camp - only for both moves to go up in smoke.

Moyes told William Hill’s podcast, Up Front with Simon Jordan : “We just didn’t make good enough signings in my first transfer window. Marouane Fellaini was signed right on deadline day and in truth, in terms of the signings I wanted, we had a terrible window.

“Cesc Fàbregas was the player I really wanted. I discussed it with Sir Alex Ferguson and we agreed he was a player that should be brought in. I spoke to Cesc and he’d been out of the team at Barcelona, so he agreed that if he wasn’t in the team for their first game of the season then he’d come to United. He was going to be the big signing.

“The other player I wanted was Gareth Bale. United always had great wide players like David Beckham and Ryan Giggs, so I thought he would fit. We made the bigger offer to Tottenham and to the player, we had a helicopter waiting for him, but he had his heart set on Real Madrid.”

Former United vice Ed Woodward was held largely responsible for United's failings in that transfer market as the club's recruitment became increasingly haphazard in the years after Ferguson's departure. Juan Mata was signed in the January from Chelsea, but failed to improve their fortunes as Moyes was axed in the April.

Following that, under the likes of Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, United spent huge sums as they broke their transfer record on several occasions. It failed to result in much silverware though and Moyes has suggested that "United’s biggest problem isn’t their manager or their players, it’s Manchester City and Pep Guardiola.”