New Juventus manager delivers Man Utd transfer blow

Carlo Garganese

Updated: 29 May 2024 08:05 CDT
3 min read

Juventus’ next manager Thiago Motta has delivered a blow to Manchester United’s chances of signing Adrien Rabiot this summer.

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Rabiot’s contract at Juventus expires at the end of next month, and it had been expected he would leave on a free transfer.

Juventus had been keen to get Rabiot’s €7.5 million a season salary off their books.

However, the imminent arrival of Thiago Motta has changed Juve’s plans.

Motta, who led Bologna to a historic Champions League qualification this season, will replace the sacked Max Allegri. It will be officially announced imminently.

Motta is a big fan of Rabiot, and knows him from the pair’s time together at PSG.

Thus, Juventus will sit down with Rabiot and offer a two-year contract, albeit it with a decrease on his current salary.

This news will come as a blow to Man Utd, who have been in the lead once again to sign Rabiot on a free transfer this summer.

Rabiot to reject Man Utd again?

This is the second year in a row that Rabiot’s contract has been due to expire, with Rabiot extending his deal just days before it was set to run out at the end of June last year.

United had been in discussions with his mother and agent Veronique last summer about signing Rabiot.

The chances of Rabiot staying at Juventus appeared to be slim as the days ticked down to his June 30 contract expiry.

But the midfielder chose to stay in the end.

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 his mother and agent Veronique again blamed for excessive demands. United then signed Casemiro instead.

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

But could they now risk missing out on Rabiot for a third year in a row?

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

He had the best season of his career last term with 11 goals in all competitions. He has not been as impressive this past season with five goals.