Darwin Nunez: Why Man Utd pulled out of €100m transfer
FT Desk
- 14 Jun 2022 06:15 CDT
- 3 min read
Manchester United ended their pursuit of new Liverpool signing Darwin Nunez as they believed that his €100 million asking price was too much.
According to the Daily Mail, Man Utd were in the race to sign the Benfica forward but pulled out as they didn’t want to pay what they saw as an inflated transfer fee.
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United are said to have been invited into an auction together with Liverpool by Nunez’s agents.
But they informed Nunez’s entourage that they would not be taking part, leaving the path clear for Liverpool.
Liverpool have since completed a €100 million deal to sign Nunez, with €75m being paid initially and then €25m in add-ons.
Nunez becomes the most expensive signing in Liverpool's history and the second biggest sale in Benfica’s.
He is also one of 14 players to have transferred for €100m or more, signing a six-year contract at Anfield.
Man Utd worried by big transfer fee
Man Utd have been burned numerous times before when making big-money transfers and were scared of the same thing occurring with Nunez, who scored 34 goals last season but only broke through in the last year.
Paul Pogba was a high-profile €100m flop when he returned from Juventus in 2016, while Harry Maguire has also struggled after becoming the most expensive defender in history from Leicester in 2019.
Last summer’s big-money signing, Jadon Sancho, also had a miserable first season at Old Trafford.
United want to make sure that when they make their next expensive transfer, they don’t get it wrong.
Erik ten Hag and the club’s hierarch have thus began looking elsewhere for another attacker, with Ajax’s Antony the favourite to come in.
The priority, though, is a top central midfielder with Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong in negotiations to join.
