Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir nearly missed out on his move to Old Trafford in the summer, as he wanted to ensure Galatasaray made money from his deal.
That’s according to his agent Sefa Seyrek, who has explained the background behind the player’s move in the summer transfer to Sports Digitale, relayed by Sporx.
Bayindir joined Manchester United in the summer in a €5m deal, despite United having spent big to sign Andre Onana from Inter Milan in the same window.
He is very much the number two at the club at this moment in time, a situation he is aware and comfortable with despite having been the undisputed number one in Turkey.
The deal for him was completed late in the window, on deadline day no less, after Manchester United had elected to sell Dean Henderson to Crystal Palace and decided not to renew David de Gea’s contract.
But it appears that the whole move nearly came crashing down as the player had signed a new contract at Galatasaray to ensure they made money from him, rather than leaving on a free transfer.
“Manchester United contacted me before the European Championship in 2020 and during the period when Fenerbahçe was going to the championship,” he said.
“Their next interest was at the end of 2022, during the transfer period of January. “Manchester United came to me again. We did not have a contract at that time. It was Altay’s last year. He could leave Fenerbahçe without making any money. He could sign in January.
“I sent the offer to Altay again. Altay is a player with a clear character. He requested that I meet directly with the Fenerbahçe President. He said: ‘I want to leave my club by making money’.
“He took such a risk at the expense of losing Manchester United. Altay was transferred for €7m. Normally, he could have put this directly into his own pocket, but he wanted to leave by making money.
“Then we signed a four-year contract with an exit clause. Our exit clause was €6m. €7m were related to the agreements. The amount there is related to Altay’s bonuses.”
