Ronaldo brings Man Utd target to Saudi Arabia

Carlo Garganese

• 4 Sept 2024 16:30 BST
• 3 min read

Al-Nassr have made a bid to sign Manchester United target Adrien Rabiot on a free transfer.

According to Corriere dello Sport, the Saudi Arabian side have offered a contract worth €20 millon per season for the France international.

Al-Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is heavily involved in the negotiations and is personally pushing for the deal to get over the line.

Rabiot is available on a free transfer as he is currently without a club.

The 29-year-old saw his contract expire with Juventus in July after five years in Turin.

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He has since been linked to a host of big clubs, with Man Utd considered the favourites to sign him for much of the summer.

Manchester United continue to monitor Rabiot, despite their recent signing of Manuel Ugarte from PSG.

Indeed, the 3-0 thrashing by Liverpool on Sunday at Old Trafford has further highlighted the weaknesses in midfield with Casemiro in particular struggling.

However, the news that Al-Nassr have moved for Rabiot comes as a blow to United.

Rabiot and Man Utd

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.

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 last season with five goals.