Adrien Rabiot never held ‘any real negotiations’ with Premier League giants Manchester United as he always wanted to stay at Serie A challengers Juventus, according to the France international’s mother and agent.
Ever since reports emerged a year ago suggesting that talks between Manchester United and Adrien Rabiot broke down, the narrative in some quarters has focused largely on the role the midfielder’s mother allegedly played behind the scenes.
Sport Mediaset, for instance, indicated that United had agreed a £15 million fee with Juventus, only for Veronique to demand a wage higher than the £6 million-a-year deal her doting son was earning in Turin.
But, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport’s Sport Week some 18 months on, Veronique was keen to set the record straight. Manchester United, she says, was never a realistic destination for a player who’s first priority was to stay and earn himself a new deal at Juventus.
Adrien Rabiot to Manchester United claims ‘false’
“Did everything fall apart due to a question of money? (Those rumours are) all false,” Veronique argues.
“United wanted to meet me to illustrate their interest in Adrien. But we never talked about money in detail because he quickly decided to stay in Turin. There were never any real negotiations.”
Rabiot, once of PSG and Manchester City, would end up enjoying the best season of his career in Italy in 2022/23, scoring 11 goals and setting up six more from his roving, left-sided central midfield role.
The Paris-born 28-year-old was again linked with a return to Manchester during the summer of 2023. Once more, however, he had little interest in turning his back on Juventus, especially with the European Championships looming on the horizon.
Rabiot stil at Jvuentus
“(Euro 2024) was an important part of my decision,” Rabiot tells L’Equipe, donning the armband for Juventus a couple of times this season.
“It’s complicated to adapt to a new club.”
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