Sir Alex Ferguson's "decisive" swoop to beat Liverpool to his best January deal

Sir Alex Ferguson's vow to knock Liverpool "off their f****** perch" is one of his most memorable quotes, probably because he was a man of his word.

That was exhibited a number of times during his 26-year reign in the Manchester United hot-seat, most notably with the overwhelming amount of trophies and spell of sustained Premier League dominance.

However, one of Ferguson's lesser known victories over his Merseyside enemies came during the January transfer window of 2006.

Central defender Nemanja Vidic was a man in demand, with plenty of potential Premier League suitors after his impressive spell at Russian outfit Spartak Moscow.

Both United and Liverpool declared their interest in the Serbian international, with then-Reds boss Rafa Benitez actually making communication with the defender first, as revealed by Vidic himself.

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Speaking to FourFourTwo, he explained: "Rafa Benitez called me and I nearly went there.

"I was interested in going but my English wasn't good and I was struggling to communicate.

"Then Manchester United came. Fergie called me at my apartment and said: 'I watched you play for Serbia against France -- I want you here.'

"United were decisive. Everything was done very quickly, within two days."

On January 5, 2006 a 24-year-old Vidic put pen to paper on a £7m deal with United after Ferguson's hijacking of Liverpool's deal.

That decision to opt for the red of Manchester rather than the red of Merseyside played a part in changing the course of Premier League history, as Vidic became one of the most influential players in one of the Premier League's most dominant sides.

From his arrival in 2006 to his departure in the summer of 2014, Vidic won the Premier League five times, with a Champions League title under his belt as well, and was named in the PFA Team of the Year on several occasions.

In the same aforementioned time period, Liverpool have just one FA Cup and one League cup to show for themselves.

After a difficult start to his United career that involved a 4-3 debut defeat by Blackburn Rovers, Vidic realised he would have to bulk up fast.

"There was nothing of him when he arrived," Paul Scholes wrote in his Independent column.

"He was skinny and relatively easy to push off the ball. Like Patrice [Evra, who joined in the same window], he took a battering in his first few weeks at the club - in training as well as matches."

That soon changed, with Scholes detailing how Vidic's work ethic was key to his transformation and establishing himself as one of the most fierce competitors in the Premier League.

"For the next year, every time I walked past the gym, I would see Nemanja in there lifting weights," Scholes added.

"He turned himself into a big, strong centre-half who was capable of knocking strikers out of the way."

Vidic's lowest moment in a United shirt ironically came against Liverpool when Fernando Torres ran him ragged during a heavy home defeat.

Ultimately, however, it was yet again Ferguson who had their last laugh after pipping the Reds to the post for one of the Premier League's all-time great defenders for just £7m.