After a disastrous two-week opening, there were calls for Manchester United to spend big and back Erik ten Hag in his first season as manager.
And the club’s hierarchy eventually had to change their stance, spending heavily on players like general midfielder Casemiro and right winger Antony.
Casemiro is yet to start a match but he could finally get his chance in the Europa League opener against Real Sociedad at Old Trafford on Thursday.
But before the Brazilian walked through the doors of Carrington, United were in talks with Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot about a possible move.
After failing in their attempts to move Frenkie de Jong away from Barcelona, United ended up turning their attention to the former Paris Saint-Germain star.
Rabiot’s demands
There was little trouble on the fee deal side, as a fee of around €20m was agreed between both clubs, but problems started when it came to negotiating personal terms.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Turin club were desperate for the transfer to go through as it would free up a large chunk of wages and help the club make a healthy profit.
“If United had said yes to mother Veronique’s exorbitant requests…”, was how the Italian publication looked forward to the transfer.
Never forget that we went from Rabiot & Arnautovic to Casemiro & Antony. From tears of sadness to tears of joy ????
— Trey (@UTDTrey) August 30, 2022
Veronique Rabiot, the player’s mother and agent, has always proven to be a difficult person to work with and the same problems arose this time too.
His exorbitant demands meant that United had to abandon the deal with the arrival of the former Real Madrid star, much to the delight of fans around the world.
It worked out well for United in the end
But according to Goal Italia journalist Romeo Agresti, who spoke to L’Equipe, the reality of the situation contradicted published reports.
“The demands weren’t crazy. It’s exaggerated. She was asking for less than certain players currently at Manchester United.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean Rabiot’s requests were reasonable, as asking for less from certain players could be relative considering David de Gea and Cristiano Ronaldo earn more.
Rabiot certainly doesn’t command a high salary and, in the end, Casemiro is an upgrade over the Juve star and fans are happy to have the general midfielder in their ranks rather than another French troublemaker.
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