Memphis Depay clinched his dream move to Barcelona this week, signing as a free agent.
The Dutchman took control of his own future at Lyon, allowing his contract to run down to take his pick of clubs.
Now of course his performances had to earn the Barcelona offer. 20 goals and 12 assists from 37 Ligue 1 appearances shows how he caught their eye.
Perhaps their is a debate as to whether United should have brought him back during the past few seasons. United had a buy-back clause but chose not to take it up. That ship has sailed.
The topic of discussion here is whether more players will follow Depay’s bravery in letting his contract run down to choose down their contracts to land dream moves.
Wait out a move to United?
Each and every summer we see players priced out of moves to Manchester United.
Jack Grealish was one of thse last summer, with Aston Villa setting a £80 million fee on his head.
Grealish was then rewarded a five-year contract at Villa. By choosing to sign this, he has waived the right to choose his next club. He is at the mercy of an interested club meeting Villa’s asking price.
Harry Kane could be about to learn this the hard way too. The Tottenham striker signed a new contract in 2018 which runs until 2024. If Daniel Levy refuses to sell him, he will be stuck at Spurs.
Elsewhere in the Premier League we see it every year with Wilfried Zaha too. The Times reports he has told Crystal Palace he wants to leave for a new challenge. This won’t be happening unless a club meet the Eagles’ £50 million plus asking price.
Zaha has himself to blame after penning a new contract in 2018 which runs until 2023. He wanted to become Palace’s best paid player, and must accept the consequences which come with it.
That’s why Depay’s move deserves so much credit. He stuck to his guns and chose not to renew at Lyon, to choose his own destiny elsewhere.
Many players would prefer the long term security a lucrative contract offers, especially when in Depay’s case, he suffered a torn ACL in December 2019.
This could be something United can profit from again in the future too. Arguably we already have, with Edinson Cavani snubbing a PSG extension in 2020 and electing to move to Old Trafford. But it would be great for a player with their best years ahead of them to do this, in the same way Depay has done with Barcelona.
In the event Borussia Dortmund continue to play hardball over Jadon Sancho and refuse to accept United’s offers, the winger might simply elect to wait out the expiration of his contract in 2023. Then he will be free to follow Depay in choosing his own destiny. This would require an extraordinary amount of patience for everybody invested in this potential transfer, with it feeling well overdue already.
It could go the other way of course…
The sad fact is, we may be witnessing this play out already, in reverse. Paul Pogba appears to be waiting out the end of his Manchester United contract.
The Frenchman’s United deal runs out in June 2022 and it is looking increasingly worrying that he will refuse to sign a new deal.
Pogba has previously been priced out of moves to Real Madrid, and if this is the move he wants, he is almost there, just 12 months away.
That’s the other side of the coin, but if Pogba does follow Depay in waiting out his deal and choosing his ideal club, more big players are likely to consider following.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, another Mino Raiola client, has just let his AC Milan deal expire in order to clinch a move to PSG.
Eventually Manchester United could be the ones to profit, rather than continually having to pay over the odds for potential signings. But it will take a change of mindset from the players involved. The likes of Kane and Grealish have been too easily seduced by high contracts and the idea of being ‘big fish in a small pond’ at their current clubs. Depay’s actions show attitudes may be beginning to change.
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