“I don’t want mercenaries…” Club director feels “lucky” after £22m Manchester United rejection

Lazio sporting director Angelo Fabiani has explained that he feels “lucky” after Manchester United rejected a £22 million bid for Mason Greenwood this summer.

Mason Greenwood, following his ban from Manchester United‘s first-team squad in Janaury 2022, signed for Marseille in a deal worth an intitial £24 million plus a further £3.4 million in add-ons.

United have also incldued a sell on clause that will see United take 50 per cent of any transfer fee that the Ligue 1 outfit receives should they choose to sell Greenwood in the future. The £3.4 million add-on will be triggered if he plays for Marseille for at least three seasons.

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However, they were not the only club interested in the 22-year-old this usmmer, with Serie A side Lazio launching multpe bids of their own.

However, Lazio never managed to match Marseille’s offers, and always felt like they were lagging behind on all accounts, only bidding a maximum of £22 million plus a 50 per cent sell-on clause. However, sporting director Angelo Fabiani feels that they got lucky when United rejected their bid.

“We wanted Greenwood last year, then there was a hitch with the player,” Fabiani told official club channels via TuttoMercatoWeb. “You all know what Greenwood’s problem was.

“An agent this year approached us with the idea of ​​Greenwood in Italy, we gave him a deadline, from there an auction was unleashed and I thought I could go up to a certain limit. We offered 22 million pounds for 50% of the player, we’re talking about 26 million euros.

“He preferred to take another path and I say that the best deals are those that aren’t made. I want Rovella, Zaccagni, players who love the environment where they work.

“I don’t want these mercenaries, it’s lucky not to make certain deals. I could sell myself for 50 thousand euros more but I have values ​​that my parents passed on to me. If he’s taken another path, we wish Greenwood the best of luck.”

Marseille have handed Greenwood their No. 10 shirt as he penned a five-year contract at the Stade Vélodrome.

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