Manchester United's rivals have gone to great lengths in years gone by to prevent star players from moving to Old Trafford
Brahim Diaz in action for Manchester City
Manchester City didn't want Brahim Diaz to end up at Manchester United(Image: Andrew Kearns - CameraSport via Getty Images)
View 2 Images
We know about players using interest from Manchester United to secure improved deals at their current clubs, as Sergio Ramos hinted and Craig Bellamy confirmed. However, other players have seen their fate impacted by actual clauses involving the Premier League club.
United were among the Premier League's big spenders during the summer window, forking out over £200million to bring Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens to Old Trafford. It is worth noting that none of the four joined from one of United's historic rivals, Manchester City or Liverpool - indeed, no player has joined United from either of those clubs in the Premier League era and on a couple of occasions, they even had later moves blocked.
Brahim Diaz was in the headlines early this month for his penalty miss in the Africa Cup of Nations final. Back in 2019, though, his name was associated with a unique clause inserted when he left City for Real Madrid.
According to reports at the time from ESPN, Madrid's swoop, which would cost them up to £22m including add-ons, also carried a 15 per cent sell-on clause. If Los Blancos ended up selling Brahim to United, though, the amount would reportedly rise to 40 per cent.
The one-cap Spain international, who later redeclared for Morocco, spent three years on loan at AC Milan but didn't end up joining the Rossoneri permanently. He was welcomed back to the Bernabeu by Carlo Ancelotti, winning the Champions League in 2024 and remaining part of the picture under Xabi Alonso before the manager's spell in charge came to an early end.
He wasn't the only one to leave a Premier League big-hitter for a Spanish giant and then face a Man United clause. Luis Suarez left Liverpool for Barcelona in 2014, but when the time came to leave Camp Nou, he wasn't allowed to move to Old Trafford.
Luis Suarez warming up for Barcelona
United weren't allowed to sign Luis Suarez from Barcelona in 2020(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
View 2 Images
Barca had seen Neymar leave for Paris Saint-Germain in a record-breaking 2017 deal and didn't want a similar fate to befall Suarez. They were understood to have named PSG and United, as well as their own fiercest rivals, Real Madrid, as no-go destinations for the Uruguayan.
The striker expressed his frustration when it was time to leave Camp Nou. He ended up joining Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2020 and winning La Liga under Diego Simeone, but there was a soreness about how he was treated in Catalunya.
"What really bothered me was when they told me that I was old and that I could no longer play at a high level, be up to [the task of fronting] a great team. That's what I did not like," Suarez told France Football in 2021.
"If I hadn't done anything at a club like Barca for three or four seasons, I would have understood. But, every year at Barca, I scored more than 20 goals per season. I have always had good statistics, just behind Leo [Messi]."
Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Content Image
Content Image