Gabriel Heinze was so angry that Manchester United did not grant him a transfer to Liverpool that lawyers got involved, but he regrets the ugly saga

There's one unwritten but simple rule when it comes to playing for Manchester United: don't play for Liverpool.

But defender Gabriel Heinze clearly didn't get that message in 2007 when he tried to force through a move to Red Devils' arch rivals.

The defender was bidding to become the first player since Phil Chisnall's £25,000 move to Anfield in 1964 to transfer directly between the two clubs and only the third in Premier League history after Michael Owen. and Paul Ince.

However, he did not take the legendary coach into account. Mr Alex FergusonFergie's dislike of Liverpool led him to step in and block the deal. After all, Fergie had spent years turning United into a team capable of “knocking down” rivals. Liverpool Heinze's response was to hire a Liverpool-based law firm.

Heinze's agent, Roberto Rodriguez, is said to have been informed by United's then chief executive David Gill that the left-back could leave for £6.8m.

But United could not have foreseen that such an offer would come from the M62, where manager Rafa Benitez tried to bring the Argentina international to join Steven Gerrard and company

A bid of £6.8m was tabled, but to Heinze's anger and dismay, United rejected his proposal and Ferguson insisted that a transfer to Merseyside was out of the question.

At the time, Ferguson said: “I can assure you that Liverpool will not sign Gabriel Heinze. We can put that behind us now and we have done so.”

“We've had a couple of offers for him and we've turned them down. Heinze's agents are constantly negotiating with him.

“But no matter what her agent thinks, we are in control. I don't know exactly what Gaby thinks because everything comes from her agent, but this has been going on for a year and a half now.”

He added: “We know he's getting legal advice, but that's good. I just hope it's good advice because we have a lot of trust.”

“I am aware that it has been suggested that he is using Liverpool lawyers, but that does not concern me. Either he has a case or he doesn't.”

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Benitez, who was baffled by United's refusal to sell Heinze to the Reds, said: “It's clear he's a player we like and he's a very good player.”

“That's why they don't want him to go with us. We made an offer that they rejected. The lawyers are working on it now and that's why we have to wait.”

It then emerged that Crystal Palace had been offered the chance to buy Heinze and then immediately sell him to Liverpool, where they would earn £1m in compensation for their troubles.

talkSPORT presenter and former Eagles chairman Simon Jordan revealed in his diary Be careful what you wish for that Phil Alexander, the club's CEO, received a contact from someone called James Green, who claimed to represent a South American agency called Soccer SA.

He wrote: “The gist of the conversation was that this agent wanted Crystal Palace to buy Gabriel Heinze. Manchester United and then sell him immediately to Liverpool.”

Jordan added: “My stance was that there was no way we were going to get involved and I told Alexander to contact David Gill, the chief executive of Manchester United, and tell him about these attempted shenanigans, which he duly did.

“Of course, I took the opportunity to have Phil let Gill know that we would like them to remember the favour.

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“The upshot was that there was an ongoing dispute in the Premier League between Heinze and United and we were asked to give evidence, and this strange and murky set of issues was sorted out by others.”

Evidence from the meeting was later used at the hearing, which United won.

After losing his bid to join the Anfield outfit, Heinze told the Daily Mail: “My fight is for the freedom to negotiate with any club.

“United never wanted me to go to one of the big clubs, but this anti-Liverpool clause is unbelievable.”

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Liverpool had hoped Heinze would appeal the decision, but it never happened because United accepted an offer from real Madrid.

Realising his preferred transfer was over, he joined Los Blancos, where he helped the Spanish side win the LaLiga title in his first season.

Heinze, who won the Premier League in 2007, later spoke of his regret at trying to force through a move to United's rivals, stressing he hopes fans still think positively of him given his performances in their shirt.

The answer was clear when Heinze returned to Old Trafford with Marseille in the Champions League in 2011.

Chants of “you Scouse b***h” echoed around the Theatre of Dreams, showing the United faithful had neither forgiven nor forgotten his actions.

It was a sad end to a great career and even the player regretted how things ended.

“I don't regret many things in my career as a footballer, but the episode with Ferguson is one of them,” he said before the European clash. “I am impulsive and strong-willed and that has gotten me into trouble at times, as was the case when I left United.”

“I spent three years in Manchester and had some great times and I regret a lot (leaving the club). I am a strong person, Sir Alex is a strong person. I made the decision and, looking back, I regret it because it meant leaving a great club and its fans. I was aware of the rivalry (with Liverpool), I knew the risk of going from Manchester to Liverpool and what it means. I hope it doesn't tarnish the way they (the fans) see me and that they remember the three years I was in the team.”

It's been 17 years since the transfer saga, and no player from either team has dared to cross the dividing line. It has even made subsequent managers think twice, with Jürgen Klopp once saying he ruled out the idea of ​​a transfer for Zlatan Ibrahimovic due to his short stay in Manchester.

Gerrard's father once She reprimanded him for daring to use a United player because his childhood football hero, Bryan Robson, played for them.

The battle lines are very clear to everyone.