It is 12 years since Manchester United signed Marcos Rojo from Sporting.
New claims have been made about Manchester United’s deal to sign Marcos Rojo that do not quite stack up.
During an appearance on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes claimed Rojo was signed by Louis van Gaal because ‘his grandson recommended him on FIFA’. These headlines have gone viral around the media in recent days.
The conversation began with Butt commenting: “If you look at what kids do, my son back when he was about 10, he could have worked in the recruitment team. He knew every player, it was all because of FIFA and what they play online on the PlayStation.”
Scholes then responded: “Apparently Louis van Gaal brought a player through his grandson. He told him about Marcos Rojo from Argentina.”
There is one crucial detail that means this story does not quite ring true.
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Marcos Rojo defends vs Arjen Robben: Argentina v Holland -World Cup
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Marcos Rojo’s Argentina eliminated Louis van Gaal
Louis van Gaal went straight from coaching the Netherlands at World Cup 2014 to managing Manchester United, with the agreement reached before the tournament.
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Van Gaal’s Netherlands were eliminated by Argentina after a tense quarter-final clash that finished 0-0, before the South American side won 4-2 on penalties.
Marcos Rojo played all 120 minutes of the game including extra-time, lining up at the left-back position.
Rojo was the only outfield starter to land a shot on target for the game for Argentina along with Lionel Messi. He also led Argentina with four tackles made.
Netherlands had been impressive at the tournament but were unable to break Argentina down, with Van Gaal controversially substituting Robin van Persie in extra-time. Rojo was part of the defence that successfully shut his side out.
It is impossible to consider that Van Gaal was unaware of Rojo when he decided to sign him for Manchester United weeks later.
This pours cold water on the theory that Van Gaal signed the defender purely because he came recommended via a video game.
After clinching his signing in August 2014, Van Gaal said: “Marcos is a very gifted defender. He can play either as a central defender or left-back.
“He has ability, physical strength and a willingness to learn. That means he has a very bright future ahead of him.”
Notably he added: “He had a very strong World Cup and has been playing in Europe for a couple of years now.”
Rojo went on to play 122 games for Manchester United, a figure that could have been far higher if not for injuries.
Now 35, he is currently playing in Argentina for Racing Club, after he made the switch from Boca Juniors.
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Van Gaal turned to two more Argentina players
Louis van Gaal also signed Argentina winger Angel di Maria in summer 2014, a deal the club clinched before the Rojo move.
One year later, Van Gaal swooped to sign a player he definitely knew about before the 2014 World Cup, and certainly did afterwards: Sergio Romero.
Van Gaal worked with Romero at AZ Alkmaar. And he had to watch as Romero made the saves in the shootout to help Argentina knock Netherlands out. They went on to reach the Final.
Romero signed for United in 2015, after Van Gaal had admitted after the World Cup defeat: “I taught Romero how to stop penalties [at Alkmaar], so that hurts.”
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