Man Utd and Barcelona in battle to sign World Cup finalist for free

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 23 May 2023 09:09 CDT
• 3 min read

Manchester United and Barcelona are ready to battle over the summer signing of Borussia Monchengladbach star Marcus Thuram.

The Frenchman, 25, has starred in the Bundesliga this season, and is available on a free transfer from July when his contract at Gladbach expires.

The forward is set to become a key player in the summer market with a plethora of clubs interested in signing him.

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Chelsea were among the teams linked with a move during their January spending spree, but the player reportedly decided against a move to Stamford Bridge in favour of assessing his options in the summer, according to Foot Mercato.

The list of clubs in the race for Thuram is ever growing with the likes of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid just a handful of the teams expressing their interest in landing him.

Man Utd and Barcelona are also in the race, with both clubs wanting the Frenchman to bolster their forward line. The former have the unreliable Anthony Martial and on-loan Burnley striker Wout Weghorst to rely on at present, and Erik ten Hag would likely welcome a more permanent replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo. Marcus Rashford has, however, recently filled in through the middle to excellent effect.

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As for Barcelona, they signed Robert Lewandowski last summer, but Memphis Depay's mid-season departure to Atletico Madrid means Thuram is wanted at Camp Nou.

Thuram to Barcelona?

Thuram's father, Lillian Thuram, played for Barcelona for two years at the end of his career from 2006 to 2008 and is remembered as one of the greatest defenders of all time.

He recently gave a hint regarding the Gladbach forward's future when he told RAC1: “Any player dreams of playing for Barca,” when asked about his son’s chances of joining the Blaugrana at the end of the season.

Furthermore, a move for Thuram would align with Barcelona's recent transfer policy, which has largely revolved around the use of the free transfer market. In the past two years, the Blaugrana have signed Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia, Memphis Depay, Marcos Alonso, Andreas Christensen, Hector Bellerin and Franck Kessie all on free transfers.