Manchester United have shockingly agreed to sell Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea in a £40 million deal.
Renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano dropped his trademark ‘here we go’ on X, revealing that the 21-year-old will sign a seven-year deal with the Stamford Bridge outfit.
The Athletic further revealed that a 10 per cent sell-on clause is included in the package.
The transfer represents the most expensive sale of a United academy graduate in history.
Despite interest from Bayern Munich and multiple Saudi clubs, Garnacho only had eyes for Chelsea and pushed for the move.
Garnacho fell out with United head coach Ruben Amorim after the UEFA Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
He publicly fired shots at Amorim for giving him only 20 minutes to make an impact.
United have long been slammed for letting stars leave on the cheap, and Garnacho’s fee feels like yet another painful chapter in that trend.
Had United been in the market for a player of Garnacho’s quality, they would likely have had to splash over £60m to sign him.
This transfer marks a major failure for INEOS and nullifies the optimism that had built after the signings of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.
The London outfit initially tested the waters with a £25m bid and even dangled young forward Tyrique George in swap talks.
Chelsea forked out £60m for Joao Pedro and splashed another £50m on Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens this summer.
INEOS’ lack of backbone in negotiations was brutally exposed, with Chelsea banking on their rivals to cave as deadline day approached.
Rather than selling, United could easily have frozen out the £50k-a-week winger without financial strain.
In a market where Anthony Elanga and Noni Madueke both commanded fees around £50m, letting Garnacho leave for £40m looks nothing short of a disgrace.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Capology.com