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Manchester United and Andrea Berta have been linked repeatedly for years.

The Atletico Madrid director of football is one of perhaps less than ten pretty well known people in the position, or similar roles, around European football clubs.

So, just like Monchi, currently at AS Roma, and Juventus’ Fabio Paratici he’s endlessly pushed forward when it’s thought a club wants, or should want, someone in the position.

We’ve been covering it since 2016, when the claims, relatively widespread at the time, had a very certain slant. Berta was said to be of interest to Manchester United because of a good relationship, even friendship, with Jose Mourinho.

At the time, Louis van Gaal was still in charge at Old Trafford, and about to win the FA Cup, but he’d had the prospect of Mourinho taking his job as a shadow for months.

The Berta claims painted the picture of Mourinho setting up a structure with him, and then Jorge Mendes being the agent help. Mendes is of course the manager’s agent, and has done business with Atletico Madrid.

Manchester United have been linked on occasion since, with the claims popping up and then disappearing again. In May 2017, it was claimed in Spain that PSG had offered Berta €14m a year (yes, that much) to beat the English club to his signature.

He moved to neither.

This weekend, just as Mourinho’s side were kicking off against Crystal Palace, Cadena Ser journalist Pedro Morata brought a new edition of the story. 

“The sporting director of Atletico Madrid, Andrea Berta, has an offer from Manchester United as long as Mourinho does not continue as coach. He now has a renewal offer from Atletico also and his harmony with the ccolchonero club is total.”

That claim is very different from the original idea of him being Mourinho’s big buddy and working well with the Portuguese.

Even the latest claim doesn’t sound confident about Manchester United’s chances.

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