Thiago: United didn't want me

Thiago was United’s first transfer saga of the summer, with reports linking him with a move to the club. David Moyes always tried to distance himself from talk about Thiago, claiming he wasn’t a priority, and then when Bayern Munich’s interest became public it seemed obvious where the player would go. The German and European champions were managed by his former mentor when he was in the youth ranks at Barcelona, Pep Guardiola, so why wouldn’t Thiago pick them?

However, Thiago has claimed today that he never even spoke to United about joining us.

“The truth is that in no moment did United come to us and talk to us. It came from the press, it was always a lie,” he said. “It’s unfair to say I wasn’t patient. The club knew my situation. I waited for them, especially before the European Championships, but they never contacted me. I didn’t feel valued. I wanted to compete. The club knew that I wanted to leave and they didn’t do much to change that. Everyone looks out for their interests, I wanted to feel valued and I wanted to compete so I decided to leave the club and join Bayern. I was waiting and waiting all summer, there was a point when I had to decide. All a footballer wants is to play football and I wanted to play, they [Barcelona] didn’t do much for me to stay, so here I am.”

However, this directly contradicts what his dad, Mazinho, claimed a couple of days earlier.

“Thiago was very close to signing with Manchester United. They had talks. But they couldn’t find an agreement.”

Hmmm.