Thursday wasn’t a great day for Manchester United fans, mostly because it was made pretty clear by every party involved that Antoine Griezmann moving to Old Trafford might not happen.
The CAS decision of upholding Atlético Madrid’s ban meant the La Liga club couldn’t reinvest the money from his sale in replacing him, causing them to want to hold onto him even more.
This led to what appeared to be some kind of brief to the English media from the club that interest in the France international had ‘cooled down’ recently, while the player himself took to social media to make it clear a stay in Spain was the most likely outcome this summer.
Then, news emerged that Gazzetta dello Sport were reporting Manchester United had a bid accepted from Inter Milan for Ivan Perisic, reported to be around €52m.
This came from one of their journalists, Carlo Laudisa, but that wasn’t quite what he said.
The tweet clearly said things were close, with his tweet in Italian saying that there was an ‘air of understanding’ between the two sides, rather than an official agreement.
Today’s edition of Gazzetta also features a big article on the matter, co-written by the very same journalist.
The article explains €52m is a bid showing José Mourinho’s intent to sign the player, and one Inter Milan very well could accept.
However, the incoming Luciano Spalletti told Inter Milan he would like to keep Perisic, and that is why the club were also looking at alternative ways to make their money for Financial Fair Play by selling 2-3 players like Andrea Ranocchia, Jeison Murillo or Marcelo Brozovic.
The article states the weekend would be crucial regarding all of this, but it appears that went out the window when the bid was actually made.
€52m may sound like a lot, but, looking how the story has unfolded, which we did here, all stemming from Mourinho’s trip to Croatia back in March, it makes sense.
Reports in Croatia stated the potential fee would be €45m + bonuses, so is it that ridiculous to think Manchester United could include €7m in bonuses?
José Mourinho seems to have clearly told Ed Woodward he sees Perisic as necessary addition to take the club forward, and with money hardly an issue at Old Trafford, such a fee isn’t all that shocking.
