The Red Devils have agreed to include the
Portuguese winger in their bid to sign the
Argentina international, who had gone on strike i
order to force through a transfer
EXCLUSIVE
By Duncan Castles
Manchester United have agreed a €20 million dea
for Sporting defender Marcos Rojo, with Nani
going the other way on a season-long loan.
Rojo is to move to Old Trafford after extensive
negotiations between the two clubs, against the
backdrop of the Argentina defender going on
strike before apologising to his team-mates and
supporters .
With United covering the majority of Nani's salar
- one of the highest at the Premier League club -
the deal is something of a triumph for Sporting
president Bruno de Carvalho.
He had refused to accept United's initial €20m
offer for Rojo, drawing the ire of both the player
and Doyen Sports, an investment fund who own
75 per cent of the Argentine's economic rights.
With Sporting contractually obliged to pay 20% of
any fee over €5m for Rojo to his former club
Spartak Moscow, and 75% of the income going t
Doyen, a €20m sale would have effectively seen
the World Cup finalist leave for free.
In bringing Nani back to the club where the
forward began his professional career, De
Carvalho has landed one of Portugal's most
prominent footballers at minimal salary cost to
Sporting.
De Carvalho was determined to play hard-ball
with Rojo's agents after the player refused to
train with the club in order to help push through
move to Old Trafford, insisting he would not be
held to ransom.
Rojo himself apologised for his behaviour in an
interview with the club's television channel on
Sunday evening , though it is understood it is
partly designed to facilitate the transfer.
"It was all a misunderstanding, I was a hothead,"
he said. "I'm sorry for what happened because I
feel that I was unprofessional.
"I want to tell the people that I didn’t behave
correctly, but I’m am very fond of this club. They
are the ones that will decide my career, and I
hope it will be the best both for me and the club.
But I want to stress that I’m very happy at the
club, and I like the way I’m treated and the care
they give me."
The deal underlines United's desperation to
provide Louis van Gaal with personnel capable of
playing the high-risk 3-5-2 formation their new
manager is attempting to introduce at Old
Trafford.
The Dutchman began his first Premier League
campaign with just three experienced central
defenders and one international left-back in his
squad, duly falling to Saturday's 2-1 home loss
to Swansea City.
Rojo, 24, is comfortable operating as one of the
three centre backs in a 3-5-2 or as the left wing
back. During his two season at Sporting he was
used primarily as a central defender.
Nani has four years remaining on the highly
lucrative contract United awarded him early last
summer. Though then manager David Moyes
considered persuading the Portugal international
to remain with the club as a key element in
structuring his squad, the pair rapidly fell out an
Nani rarely made the first XI in subsequent
months.
Liverpool have made Portugal Under-21
international Tiago Ilori available for loan as they
attempt to rebalance their squad for the new
season. Ilori, an initial €7.5m signing from
Sporting last summer, has yet to start a game fo
the Reds but had expected to be part of Brendan
Rodgers' first-team plans this season.
His position, though, has been complicated by
Kolo Toure's refusal to accept a transfer to
Trabzonspor, leading Liverpool to seek another
developmental loan move. While Bordeaux are
interested in Ilori, he would prefer a switch to
another Premier League side.
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