Brazil star admitted ‘he thought about it a lot’ after Man Utd move collapsed | Football | Sport
Manchester United haven’t missed out on too many transfer targets in recent years but there have been some exceptions. Brazil winger Lucas Moura looked set to move to Old Trafford when he left his home country but it wasn’t to be. Moura, now 33, caught the eye with his displays for Sao Paulo and the Brazil national team. He was still in his teens when a move to Europe looked immiment, with United the front-runners before newly minted Paris Saint-Germain stole a march.
The forward would later move to the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur, helping the Londoners reach the Champions League final in 2019. He spent more than five years in north London before returning to Sao Paulo – where he remains today – in 2023. Before then, though, he was the one that got away for United. In 2016, he shared just how close he was to winding up at Old Trafford before PSG director of football Leonardo Araujo intervened.
“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.”, he told The Telegraph. “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.”
Following six years in the French capital, Moura made the switch to Spurs for approximately £25million and went on to make 221 appearances for the north London club across six seasons. United have been chasing fellow Brazilian midfielder Ederson this summer, though that deal is also now in jeopardy after fitness concerns surrounding the player came to light.
Despite reports suggesting the deal has fallen through, United remain willing to bring the 27-year-old to Old Trafford. However, negotiations have grown complicated following medical examinations that flagged concerns over a knee injury picked up last season.
Additional tests took place last week, and United may now attempt to renegotiate the terms of their offer. A fee of £35million plus a further £3.8million in add-ons had been agreed roughly six weeks ago.
The transfer was expected to be completed in early July, but Ederson received a late call-up to the Brazil squad for the World Cup. He completed part of his medical while in the United States, before undergoing further assessments after Brazil’s round of 16 defeat to Norway.
Sources in Italy have suggested the deal is dead and that Atalanta are prepared to hand Ederson a new five-year contract. United have not dismissed the possibility of proceeding with the signing, though, despite completing a move for fellow midfielder Andrey Santos on Monday.
