Why Man Utd have withdrawn their bid for Arnautovic
FT Desk
- Updated: 23 May 2023 08:46 CDT
- 3 min read
Manchester United have withdrawn their bid to sign Bologna veteran Marko Arnautovic, according to The Athletic.
United submitted a bid of €8 million for the 33-year-old Austrian last week, which was immediately rejected by Bologna.
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Arnautovic and his entourage had made it clear that they wanted to make the move but Bologna insisted publicly that they were not prepared to sell.
Nevertheless, Man Utd were expected to increase their offer for the striker as personally requested by manager Erik ten Hag, who worked with Arnautovic while at Twente.
What was Man Utd's fan campaign against Arnautovic?
However, a fan campaign demanding that Man Utd do not sign Arnautovic has proved to be successful, according to The Athletic.
Fans complained that Arnautovic used an anti-Albanian slur at Euro 2020 during Austria’s game against North Macedonia, for which he received a one-match ban from UEFA.
There were also unproved allegations against Arnautovic racially abusing an opponent while at Twente in 2009, which the player himself denied in a social media post.
The Athletic reports that a number of Man Utd fans even emailed United and chief executive Richard Arnold directly imploring the club not to sign Arnautovic.
The campaign has proved to be successful as Man Utd have now ended their chase of the attacker.
Arnautovic moved to Bologna a year ago after two seasons spent in China.
He scored 14 goals and was arguably the club’s best performer.
Man Utd are in the market for a new striker following Cristiano Ronaldo’s request to leave the club.
