Over the summer, when Manchester United were reportedly interested in Marko Arnautovic, some sort of campaign immediately started on social media.
Fans of the Red Devils weren’t happy with the idea of signing the former West Ham United player, who wanted their club to be more ambitious to bolster their attack.
It was then reported that Manchester United listened to these comments, and subsequently dropped their interest in the Austrian, but not before a first offer was rejected by Bologna.
Various reports have since emerged claiming a few variants of what actually happened, but Bologna’s director of football Marco Di Vaio came out on Thursday in an interview with Corriere dello Sport.
He admitted that Manchester United asked the Serie A side ‘directly’ about Arnautovic, while Juventus, also said to be interested, did not.
As for whether those unhappy supporters had anything to do with the Red Devils moving on, Di Vaio made it very clear.
He said: “No, no. Manchester United did not back down because of those fans, but only because Arnautovic has understood that he is at the centre of our project now and in the coming years. Marko behaved like a true champion, realising what he represents for Bologna as a team and a city.”
