Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed Manchester United have
first refusal on Giuseppe Rossi should Villarreal ever want to sell
the Italian striker.
Rossi has joined the La Liga outfit in an estimated £6million deal
after deciding he wanted more first-team opportunities than he was
likely to get at Old Trafford this season.
Ferguson did his best to persuade the 20-year-old to stay with
United but after scoring nine goals in 17 games to effectively keep
Parma in Serie A last term, Rossi was anxious not to find himself
back in the Red Devils reserves.
So, in accepting Rossi's wishes, Ferguson instead ensured he would
be able to buy the New Jersey-born striker back should the need
arise.
"We have put a clause in
the contract, so maybe he will come back to us at some stage," the
Scot told MUTV.
"We wish Giuseppe well and we know he will do well at
Villarreal.
"It was a difficult decision to let him leave. I had several
meetings with him to try and convince him that he would get plenty
of football with us this season and all he needed was a bit of
patience.
"But, having been on loan last season, he wanted first-team
football all the time."
Rossi has signed a six-year contract with Villarreal, where he is
effectively replacing another United old-boy, Diego Forlan.
Hooray..there's light at the end of the
tunnel. 
