The Brazil international star’s move to Manchester United collapsed late on
Former PSG and Tottenham Hotspur star Lucas Moura revealed he almost joined Manchester United. The 33-year-old, who now plays for Sao Paulo in his native Brazil, won four Ligue 1 titles in France.
In 2019, he played in the Champions League final for Spurs, where they lost to Liverpool. Yet his career could have worked out very differently.
Moura began his career at Sao Paulo and started to attract interest from Europe’s top clubs. In 2016, the winger said it was a tough decision to turn down United for PSG.
He said it was former Brazil star Leonardo, then the director of football at PSG, who swayed him to move to France in 2012.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Moura said: “I was very close to joining Manchester United. It nearly happened but, at the last minute, Leonardo called me and spoke to me and my parents.
“It was a very difficult moment because suddenly I had to make a choice when I thought I was joining Manchester United. I thought about it a lot; I talked about it with my family and I made my choice. Football is like that. You have to choose a team.”
After six seasons in Paris, Moura joined Spurs for around £25million and he made 221 appearances for the club over the next six years. United have been pursuing another Brazilian midfielder, Ederson, this summer but their chase is now in doubt.
United will seek to renegotiate the deal they’ve agreed with Atalanta to get the signing over the line after fitness doubts regarding the star emerged.
Despite reports stating the deal has collapsed, United remain open to bringing the 27-year-old to Old Trafford, but the deal has become complex after medical tests raised concerns about a knee injury sustained last season.
Further tests were carried out last week, and United could now try to restructure the deal in their bid. A fee of £35m plus a further £3.8m in add-ons had been agreed around six weeks ago.
The transfer was slated to go through in early July but Ederson was a late call-up to the Brazil squad for the World Cup. He underwent part of his medical while in the United States, and then had further checks after Brazil were beaten by Norway in the last 16.
Sources in Italy have claimed the deal is off and that Atalanta are ready to offer Ederson a new five-year deal. United haven’t ruled out moving ahead with the signing, however.
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