Former United target Adrien Rabiot ‘immensely frustrated’ to drop down to Europa League

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Manchester United’s pursuit of France midfielder Adrien Rabiot in the summer will be a turning point the club look back on.

After missing out on Frenkie de Jong, United pursued Rabiot, with director of football John Murtough pictured in Italy as he flew out to negotiate a deal.

Fortunately for United, a deal was unable to be done. Rabiot sought to become one of United’s highest earners, and the Red Devils pulled out of the deal.

This was a case where United failed upwards, moving on to sign Casemiro for £60 million. The Brazilian has gone onto become a key player in United’s XI.

Rabiot drops to Europa League

Casemiro was a five-times Champions League winner and wanted a fresh challenge. He was comfortable stepping away to the Europa League.

Rabiot was not so ready. ESPN reported the reason the midfielder was demanding such a high salary from Manchester United, was ‘to compensate for giving up Champions League football’.

Now after five games in the competition, Rabiot and Juventus find themselves dropping down into the Europa League.

A defeat 4-3 at Benfica confirmed their third placed finish in this year’s Champions League group stages, and he is not happy.

Rabiot posted on Instagram last night, stating: “The frustration of not having achieved the goal we had set for ourselves is immense! 

“But this frustration must have a positive effect and lead us to improvement. We still have missions to accomplish and as long as the team is united we can overcome all difficulties.”

Frenkie de Jong also drops to Europa League

Frenkie de Jong was another midfielder who turned down a move to Manchester United this summer, preferring to play in the Champions League.

Now he too is dropping down to the Europa League with Barcelona after they too were eliminated from the Champions League last night.

Barcelona needed Viktoria Plzen to beat Inter Milan to keep their hopes alive. The Serie A side won 4-0 and the La Liga big guns have dropped down into Europe’s second tier competition.

Manchester United could be drawn against either Juventus or Barcelona in the knockout phases, setting up a tie with some real spice. Paul Pogba could also have returned for Juventus by then.

United must finish top of the Europa League group to avoid an extra knockout round against a third placed Champions League team in early 2023.