Manchester United Rumours Archive April 09 2015

09 Apr 2015 10:24:37
Hi Eds,
First time poster, long time reader, love this site. I would just like to ask if there is any interest in Lacazette of Lyon from Man. Utd.? Or interest from elsewhere?

{Ed002's Note - Lacazette's position is complex as it involves another player. There is interest in him from a number of clubs including Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Arsenal and, in particular PSG and there have been a number of discussions about his future. Manchester City moved on to buy Bony in January and now need to be making space if they are going to continue their interest in Lacazette. With Jovetic and probably Dzeko leaving in the summer nothing will come of it unless Aguero were to also leave. Much will depend on the future of the other player and what happens in terms of success this season and Champions League qualification. My expectation is that he will stay at Lyon.}

09 Apr 2015 14:28:40
who is the other player?

{Ed002's Note - Kekir.}

09 Apr 2015 16:53:42
Ed002, I get the feeling you are talking about RVP or Falcao.

{Ed002's Note - It is nothing whatsoever to do with Manchester United.}

09 Apr 2015 09:15:58
Ed002 - just a quick question in regards to player transfers and the FFP rule. Hypothetically if a player like Messi was desperate to leave Barcelona but no club could afford him due to FFP regulations could Messi take legal action against UEFA for infringing his working rights even if he is still under contract at Barcelona?

Obviously this is a 'what if' situation but could that be a possible route for a player to go down?

{Ed002's Note - It would not be an FFP issue in any one year for a number of clubs but it would be an issue for any club looking to do any other business over forthcoming years. And the amounts of money involved are well beyond significant. As I have explained before, although Barcelona have not been hawking Messi around, my expectation is that Messi will be made available and Barcelona will start looking to rebuild around Neymar from January 2016 when they can start bring players in again. And I expect that Barcelona will make Messi available from the summer - regardless of who the manager is at that time. Whether or not there would be any takers is another matter, and Barcelona are well aware of that and are looking at the same of others to raise funds (e.g. Pedro). A number of questions were asked of representatives of UEFA in December regarding the transfer of the financially very high-end players and the impact on FFP. It is clear that exceptions would need to be put in place as the alternative could be lawsuits from players regarding restrictions on trade. In the past Messi has turned down a transfer to one side who had agreed to meet Barcelona's then €250M price tag, and Barcelona and a commercial partner resisted an approach by a commercial organisation on behalf of an English side with an offer to buy, or at least part fund, the player. I am aware that in Spain there has been speculation about an offer being made during the summer 2014 transfer window, but it is "largely" incorrect. This all started in 2012 when in mid December Anzhi made an offer to Barcelona that matched the €250M euro release clause that existed in his contract, and put up what I am told was a "very" significant personal package. However, Messi was not interested in a move to Russia and Barcelona did not want to sell - so Messi, in early February 2013, extended his contract with Barcelona. In the early summer of 2013 efforts were being made by Adidas to broker a deal that would get Messi away from Nike and to one of their three high-profile clubs. Very quickly Real Madrid were ruled out and with Pep Guardiola moving to Bayern Munich that pretty much saw the end of any chance of a move there (given the strained relationship) at the time. This left Chelsea and I can confirm that discussions were held about making a firm bid - at this point we are in late 2013 and early 2014 and Messi was in a verbal spat with Barcelona about getting a further extension - which the club were against. Ultimately, the player was (at least in his eyes) available during the Spring of 2014 and at that point Chelsea and Adidas made his management representatives and Barcelona aware of what they would be willing to do to make a transfer happen. Since then he has again extended his contract with Barcelona. I understand that again they see three possible destinations for the player but I am not going to get involved in any further speculation at this time. Right now, I would think a summer move anywhere is unlikely.}

09 Apr 2015 16:54:12
Woah, cheers for that Ed002. If Chelsea did manage to sign him I honestly wouldn't know what to think. They would be a real force in world football.

It's a longshot but would Manchester United have the financial power to sign him ever in the future?

{Ed002's Note - I have no interest in speculating.}

08 Apr 2015 23:14:08
More out of curiosity than anything but do you see Messi being available this summer Ed?

{Ed002's Note - Not at a price where anyone would buy him.}

09 Apr 2015 15:31:17
I assume you are referring to the 250m eur release clause Ed?

{Ed002's Note - The "release clause" is of no real significance.}