Manchester United failed to complete the signing of Ander Herrera from Athletic Bilbao in 2013 after 'impostors' tried to broker the deal, only for the Spaniard to complete his move the following year
Ander Herrera of Manchester United waves goodbye to the supporters
Ander Herrera's prospective move to Manchester United in 2013 collapsed because of 'fraudsters'
(Image: Getty)
Ander Herrera's transfer saga of 2013 remains one of the most bizarre episodes that has prevented Manchester United from landing a transfer target. The Red Devils were understood to be chasing the former Spain midfielder when three representatives 'sabotaged' the deal.
David Moyes, who was United boss at the time, claimed the transfer fell through due to Athletic Bilbao's excessive financial demands. Yet supporters were left stunned when reports surfaced suggesting the move had actually collapsed because 'fraudsters' pretending to represent United had turned up at Athletic's headquarters offering to trigger his release clause on deadline day.
Many would have been even more astonished to discover Herrera himself later verified that this truly was why his switch to Old Trafford failed to happen 12 years ago.
"I didn't even know them," the 35-year-old revealed on the UTD Podcast in 2022. "I know my lawyers and I know my agent. It is the same agent as when I was 18. They [hoaxers] were trying to make easy money – I don't know how.
"I think they wanted to be there if the negotiation was successful, they wanted everyone to think that they were the ones who did it and, maybe after that, they can have more players or more negotiations.
"But I didn't even know them, honestly. It was funny because some of my friends say, 'Your lawyers are in La Liga and they are going to pay the money,' and I said, 'No, they are not my lawyers. I do not know them.'"
Ander Herrera of Manchester United during the Premier League match between Huddersfield Town and Manchester United
Herrera eventually signed for United in 2014(Image: Getty)
La Liga sources seemed keen to play down the 'impostor' element of the saga at the time, maintaining the three solicitors, Rodrigo Garcia Lucas, Alvaro Reig Gurrea and Guillermo Gutierrez, were genuinely representing United.
Moyes added further mystery when the Scotsman acknowledged that the deal fell through because the club believed "the buyout was the wrong valuation."
Following the failed Herrera pursuit, United hastily completed the £27.5m deadline-day signing of Marouane Fellaini from Everton. The Herrera fiasco became one of the most bizarre transfer collapses in recent memory as United struggled through a sluggish summer of dealings under Moyes.
Lucas, Gurrea and Gutierrez were the identical trio of solicitors who had successfully managed Javi Martinez's high-profile switch to Bayern Munich in 2012.
Nevertheless, whilst that transaction had been planned over several weeks, they were trying to complete Herrera's 2013 move within just a few days.
Herrera, who is currently playing for the Argentinian powerhouse Boca Juniors, moved to Manchester the subsequent year after Louis van Gaal took over from Moyes. United made this possible by transferring funds enabling the midfielder to activate his own buyout clause.
The Basque midfielder clocked up 189 appearances for United, equalling the number of games he played for Athletic across two separate spells.
He clinched the Europa League, an FA Cup and a League Cup during his tenure in England before moving to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2019.