London, Apr 9 (IANS): Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed that he was offered a deal by Barcelona around 2008 to join the Spanish club, but he rejected the deal. He was part of the United set-up when the club was considered one of the best in the world of football.

"It was after the game in Barcelona, in the tunnel after the game when I spoke to (Frank) Rijkaard. There is an etiquette but you get the gist of what someone is saying," Ferdinand told BT Sport.

"It came close, there were discussions with my agent. Barcelona had touched base."

While Manchester United haven't had the best of times in recent years, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made it clear that things will return to normalcy and he wants his boys to be ready for that.

"Football is going to get back to normality at one point, and it's very important we're ready when that happens. We want to be the best at everything, and of course now is a chance to spend more time, you discuss players, discuss plans, we've evaluated what we need, of course with the coaching staff we've looked at games, evaluated games, discussing on video calls like this," he told Sky Sports in an exclusive interview.

But for now, the manager is also happy that he along with his boys have got time with the families.

"Of course there will be text messages and WhatsApp messages more often. But the biggest difference for most of us is that when you're a footballer you don't really get to spend much time with your family.

"That's been a big plus, if you're allowed to say that anything has been a big plus in this situation. But yes, we are planning, we are discussing what we have to do, what we can do, and I have to say the club has been very good so far," he pointed.