Man Utd failed in £85million transfer attempt, claims ex-sporting director of UCL club

Posted Sunday, January 28, 2024 by Dailystar.co.uk

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic had long been a reported target for Man United during his Lazio days but a move never materialised but it wasn't for a lack of trying, according to an ex-director of the Serie A side

Man Utd failed in £85million transfer attempt, claims ex-sporting director of UCL club
The 28-year-old made a surprising move to Al Hilal last year for a reported fee of £34million (Image: Getty Images)

Lazio's former sporting director sensationally claimed Manchester United once bid £85million (€100million) for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

The Serbian star spent eight years with the Serie A club before making a surprising move to Saudi Arabia last year to sign for Al Hilal for a reported fee of £34m (€40m).

The 28-year-old had long been one of Europe's most highly-rated talents during his time in Italy and was consistently linked with a move away with Manchester United reportedly big fans of the midfielder.

Despite the constant rumours of the Premier League giants' interest, a move never materialised as Milinkovic-Savic went on to rack up 341 appearances for the club, scoring 69 goals as he left Lazio as the club's highest-scoring midfielder in their history.

Interest in the midfielder significantly heated up during Jose Mourinho's time at Old Trafford given the Portuguese manager's history in the country and according to former Lazio sporting director Igli Tare, the interest in the Serbia international was very much a reality.

He claimed that United, as well as AC Milan, made hefty bids worth £85m (€100m) for Milinkovic Savic's services. "Many untrue things have been said about Milinkovic-Savic, from his farewell on a free transfer to the fact that he didn’t want to stay," he told tuttomercatoweb.

"The only true thing is that Lotito [Lazio's president] rejected a very important offer, worth over 100 million euros, from Milan and Manchester United."

"I don’t want to say too much about the lack of sales, even if there was a question of budgets, but Lotito’s choices were to maintain a strong team and respect the promises made to the coach. Let’s not forget that in the year of Covid, Lazio was about to win the scudetto."

Despite losing their long-time talisman last year, Lazio remain in the hunt for Champions League football this season where they sit sixth in the league and are on a four-match winning streak.