When it became clear that Frenkie de Jong wasn’t overly interested in leaving Barcelona to play at Manchester United, the Red Devils started looking elsewhere.
The first name that appeared was that of Adrien Rabiot, whom Erik ten Hag seemingly saw as a decent alternative for the Dutchman, and negotiations between the Old Trafford side and Juventus started.
Those were over pretty quickly, with Manchester United agreeing to pay around €20m for the France international, but discussions concerning personal terms were far more difficult.
A few had anticipated this, as Rabiot is represented by his mother, who always wants what’s best for her family, meaning her requests were considerable.
There was a desire from most around the club to see the Frenchman leave, as it would see his big salary taken off the wage bill, as well as bring in a considerable profit, seeing as he arrived on a free from Paris Saint-Germain.
Gazzetta dello Sport make it clear they, or at least Juventus, wanted that to happen, looking at what happened next following Manchester United’s decision to move on and focus on Casemiro.
Rabiot almost immediately went back into Max Allegri’s plans, starting against Sampdoria, Roma and Spezia, only to then injure himself.
Nothing serious, however, as he is expected to be back to face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
However, when talking about him spending the summer between Juventus and Manchester United, Gazzetta make sure to remind their readers ‘it was not just a fantasy’, looking back and wishing ‘if only United had said yes to the exorbitant requests of mother Véronique…’
