Man Utd miss out on the world’s best free agent

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 28 Aug 2024 14:50 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United are set to miss out on long-term target Adrien Rabiot, who has been offered a contract by AC Milan.

Rabiot is available on a free transfer after his contract with Juventus expired on July 1.

He is arguably the most prestigious free agent on the market and has been a target for Man Utd for over two years now.

However, Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the 29-year-old has now been offered a contract by AC Milan.

Milan need to offload Ismael Bennacer before they can bring Rabiot into the club, with the Algerian of interest to clubs in Saudi Arabia.

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Manchester United had been monitoring Rabiot, despite their imminent signing of Manuel Ugarte from PSG.

Rabiot and Man Utd

Man Utd had been the favourites to sign Rabiot this summer having been close to buying him on two occasions in the past, but Milan are now in the driving seat.

United had been in discussions with the midfielder’s agent and mother Veronique Rabiot last summer about signing Rabiot.

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The Red Devils were expected to sign Rabiot on a free transfer in the summer of 2023 as his contract at Juventus ticked down.

But the midfielder chose to stay in Turin in the end, signing a new one-year extension days before his contract expired.

It was the second time in 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 Veronique again blamed for excessive demands. United then signed Casemiro instead.

United had now been working on a third attempt to sign Rabiot this summer.

Rabiot, 29, joined Juventus on a free transfer from PSG in 2019. He made over 200 appearances for the club, winning one Scudetto.

He had the best season of his career in 2022-23 with 11 goals in all competitions. He was not as impressive this past season with five goals.