Speaking on the Overlap, De Rossi also recalled meeting former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson before they signed Michael Carrick from Tottenham.
"I followed football in England when I was younger,” De Rossi said.
“I followed Manchester United a little more, I was fascinated by you (Roy Keane) and your legacy. I really liked it.
“I was close to coming to England, it was my first option if I left Rome.
“I couldn’t go. It was Manchester United for me, I had some chances to go to other teams, but Manchester United was the one I recognised as the best club in England.”
He also recalled: “It was 2006, when I was in the airport during the World Cup and Marcello Lippi called me.
“I went there, I was scared of him, and he opened the door, brought me inside a small room and there was Sir Alex Ferguson in this room.
“He was flying from one city to another to watch the World Cup.
“Lippi said: ‘You have to go there’. I was shy, because of him, because of Lippi as well, he was scary.
“It was a three-minute moment, nothing serious, but I’d have liked to say: ‘Yes, I want to come’ because Manchester United was something huge when I was younger.”