Friday morning saw claims from AS about Manchester United wanting to sign Marcos Llorente from Atletico Madrid.
The midfielder has increased his status under Diego Simeone, and it was reported the Premier League club had initiated contact and were ready to pay €80m for the transfer.
A move would also see the player’s salary double, but it was made clear he had no intention of leaving the Spanish club.
Manchester United have been the subject of similar claims with other Atletico players over the past five years, with Koke one of the main ones. It will be stated the Old Trafford side are very keen, want to pay a big amount and hand out huge wages, however, the player will usually be against it all.
Marca have picked up the claims and they have a headline reading ‘clause or nothing’. Atletico don’t want to sell, wouldn’t be tempted by offers (which contradicts the AS claims), and would point to Llorente’s €120m buyout clause.
No offer has been received, from anyone.
Interestingly, Marca point out Llorente probably isn’t on wages which are high enough for his current status and may well fancy a renewal, which seems to be their hunch over why the story appeared today.
