The coveted Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi has said that a move to Manchester United in the summer would have made him suicidal.

Manchester United made a bid for the midfielder towards the end of the summer transfer window, according to Roma's coach Rudi Garcia, but it came too late for the club to accept.

"I said to him that I couldn't lose him at the last minute so we fixed a date after which he would not move," Garcia told L'Equipe.

"The first league match came and a few days after Manchester United called the club, called him, but the date had passed and he didn't move."

Reports at the time suggested United had offered £12m for the player, who was also a target for Manchester City under Roberto Mancini in 2012, a move he turned down.

"It was a good thing that I didn't go to Manchester, now I would have committed suicide!" he told Corriere dello Sport.

It was unclear whether De Rossi was commenting on United's struggles this season or expressing relief that he was part of a renaissance at Roma that has lifted them to second behind Juventus in Serie A. Or, indeed, giving his opinion on the Lancashire weather.

However, it may also have been an expression of the rediscovered form that has made the 30-year-old a certainty for the Azzurri at the World Cup finals in Brazil this summer.

"Last summer I didn't feel comfortable, I didn't recognise myself in the relationship with my team-mates and with the fans," he said.