Transfer Centre

Adrien Rabiot: 'I was lucky to avoid Manchester United move'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 17 November 2022

Adrien Rabiot: 'I was lucky to avoid Man United move'

Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot believes he was "lucky" to have avoided a move to Manchester United in the summer amid strong interest from the Red Devils.

Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot believes he was "lucky" to remain with the Bianconeri in the summer amid interest from Manchester United.

The France international was understood to have been on the radar of the Red Devils as Erik ten Hag sought to beef up his engine room ahead of the 2022-23 season.

At one stage, the two clubs were thought to have agreed on a £15m fee - potentially rising to £20m - for Rabiot, who is represented by his mother Veronique Rabiot.

The 27-year-old's proposed switch to Old Trafford ultimately collapsed, reportedly due to his camp's wage demands, but he has enjoyed a positive start to the campaign at Juventus.

Rabiot has come up with five goals and two assists from 16 games for Massimiliano Allegri's side in the first half of the season and has played the full 90 in each of their last six Serie A wins.

Juventus' Adrien Rabiot pictured on January 12, 2022 © Reuters

Rabiot was also called up to the France squad for the 2022 World Cup by Didier Deschamps, and he has now revealed that there was contact with English top-flight clubs over the summer.

However, the former Paris Saint-Germain man feels that remaining in Turin was the right thing for him, telling La Gazzetta dello Sport: "It's true, there were contacts with Premier League clubs, but in the end, I was lucky to stay, perhaps it was the best decision."

Rabiot is due to become a free agent at the end of the season, but the midfielder feels no need to rush into a decision about his future while he prepares to compete at the World Cup.

"The Premier League is the most followed league, but I don't think about the future. I am focused on the World Cup. The club and I are in no hurry, there's serenity so we can consider all options," Rabiot added.

The Frenchman has amassed 11 goals and eight assists from 145 games in a Juventus shirt since joining from PSG in 2019, winning one Serie A title, one Coppa Italia and one Supercoppa Italiana in that time.

France midfielder Adrien Rabiot pictured on June 28, 2021 © Reuters

Chelsea have been tipped to move for Rabiot in January, despite already taking Denis Zakaria off of the Old Lady's hands on a season-long loan deal over the summer.

A separate report from Calciomercatoweb has stated that Real Madrid are also in the race to sign the 27-year-old, who is thought to be a firm favourite of Carlo Ancelotti.

Rabiot and Juventus are supposedly still struggling to come to an agreement over a new contract, and Real could seal a move for €20m (£17.5m) in the January window.

The Champions League holders signed Aurelien Tchouameni over the summer to replace Casemiro, who joined Man United after their pursuit of Rabiot fell through.

However, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric both see their contracts expire at the end of the season, and the former is rumoured to be a target of Manchester City.