Man Utd try to sign free World Cup star for a THIRD time

Carlo Garganese

• 3 Jan 2024 16:00 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United will attempt to sign Adrien Rabiot for a third time this summer, on a free transfer.

Rabiot’s contract at Juventus expires at the end of the current season, and he is yet to open talks over a renewal.

According to the Daily Express, United will make a move this month to open discussions with Rabiot over him joining on a Bosman Transfer.

This will be the second year in a row that his contract is due to expire, with Rabiot extending his contract just days before it was set to run out at the end of June last year.

United had been in discussions with his mother and agent Veronique.

The chances of Rabiot staying at Juventus appeared to be slim as the days ticked down to his June 30 contract expiry.

Juventus had been in talks with Rabiot over a new deal for a few months but discussions were halted when the Bianconeri were handed a final 10-point penalty which saw them fail to qualify for the Champions League.

Rabiot had made it clear that he would only stay at Juventus if they qualified for the Champions League. The points deduction meant that Juve finished seventh and they were eventually banned from Europe altogether.

But the midfielder chose to stay in the end.

It was the second time in less than a year that he had rejected United.

It is widely understood that Juventus and Man Utd agreed on a transfer fee worth €18m plus €6m in add-ons in the summer of 2022.

But United were unable to agree personal terms with Rabiot, with his mother and agent Veronique again blamed for excessive demands. United then signed Casemiro instead.

United are now set to make a third attempt at Rabiot this summer.

What did Rabiot say?

Rabiot admitted at the end of December that he will wait a few months at least until he decides whether to stay at Juventus or leave on a free.

“I must think about it and talk to the club,” he said.

“I’ve already said I am happy here, but we’ll talk about it. I want to enjoy every game until the end of the season, and then we’ll see, but we are calm.”

Rabiot had the best season of his career last term with 11 goals in all competitions. He has three goals so far this term.