Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he was willing to go further than anyone else in the race to sign Robin van Persie last summer.
Ferguson splashed £24m on Van Persie despite the striker edging towards 30 and being in the last year of an injury-plagued spell at Arsenal.
The veteran manager admits that it was a lot to spend on a player in the final year of his contract, but claimed that his desire to bring Van Persie to the club warranted the hefty price tag.
"It was a lot of money for a player in the last year of his contract," said the Scot.
"But the thing about it is - as it proved with Manchester City the year before when they paid £24m for Samir Nasri - you either want him or you don't.
"You have to pay the price that the club are sticking out for, whether it is one year on his contract, two or three. We wanted him badly, so we were prepared to go the extra mile."
Van Persie has scored 20 goals in 26 games for the Red Devils since joining, helping them to the top of the Premier League table.
Barney Corkhill
