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Ryan Giggs tried to convince Elliot Anderson to join Manchester United before the World Cup.

The former Wales international said on Rio Ferdinand Presents: The Debrief that he made an effort to persuade Elliot Anderson to move to Manchester United, and ended up getting “in trouble”.

The ex-Nottingham Forest midfielder chose Manchester City instead of the Red Devils in a £116 million transfer, a move that was initially reported to have broken the British transfer record.

Giggs, who won the Premier League 13 times with Manchester United, admitted Anderson did not respond well to his attempts to sway him, and said the player told him: “Will you just let me play golf, please?”

The 45-year-old said he met Anderson only a few days before the England international travelled to North America, at a time when he was “probably the most-talked about Premier League player”.

Although they were playing golf in separate groups, Giggs took the chance to try and talk Anderson into joining Manchester United.

Ferdinand told the Welshman that he also tries to “sell the club” to certain players he comes across, saying: “The club’s the best. That’s what I do when I see [desirable] players, I don’t care.”

Giggs said his efforts were stopped after “four or five holes”, with Anderson eventually becoming irritated by the repeated attempts.

“[I saw him] a few days before he went to the World Cup. I peppered him. He didn’t know how to take it at first, and then he relaxed a little bit,” said the 45-year-old.

“For the first four or five holes, we were literally crossing. And at the end of it, he went, ‘Will you just let me - leave me alone. Will you just let me play my golf, please?’ You’re in trouble,” Giggs added.

The two then discussed transfers that reach the kind of financial level involved in Anderson’s move to Manchester City, with Ferdinand saying “you’ve got to try all sorts” to get such deals done.

“You’ve got to try all sorts to get these deals over. It’s mad, though. Obviously, the price tag was crazy,” said the Englishman.

“It’s just like astronomical money,” Ferdinand added, with Giggs agreeing. The former Manchester United centre-back then referred to the club’s financial position and how that related to Anderson.

“Manchester United haven’t got the budget to pay for that,” Ferdinand said bluntly. The pair then agreed that Anderson is a good player, despite his choice to join their Manchester rivals.