Manchester United ‘opted against signing Man City star Joao Cancelo after the Neville brothers personally recommended him to Ed Woodward’… but fans feel he wouldn’t have developed at Old Trafford
- Manchester United reportedly opted against signing full-back Joao Cancelo
- Cancelo, 27, has signed a two-year contract extension with Manchester City
- Fans believe Cancelo would have not developed if he had joined the Red Devils
Manchester United’s departing chief executive ignored the chance to sign Joao Cancelo when the Neville brothers Gary and Phil personally recommended the full-back on numerous occasions.
The Portuguese international instead opted to join rivals Manchester City and has just agreed a new two-year contract extension following his impressive start to life in the Premier League.
Gary Neville first drew United’s attention to Cancelo after overseeing his progress during his short managerial spell with LaLiga giants Valencia.
Manchester United chief Ed Woodward opted against signing Joao Cancelo (pictured)
Full-back Cancelo has just agreed a new two-year contract with rivals Manchester City
Woodward repeatedly ignored and Cancelo eventually signed for Juventus before sealing a big £60million move to City in 2019.
Cancelo has since been one of the Premier League’s star performers since his arrival and now he has been rewarded with improved terms on his £80,000-a-week deal after establishing himself as a key player in Pep Guardiola’s side.
The 27-year-old has scored seven goals and registered a further 14 assists in his 106 appearances along with winning three major trophies.
Cancelo has scored seven goals in his 106 appearances since joining City back in 2019
His contract will now run up until the summer of 2027 after his new extension.
Cancelo told the club website: ‘It made complete sense for me to extend my contract here, also for my family as well. I feel great in this club and my teammates help me to improve every day.
‘It’s an amazing group here. I think we all have a great relationship with each other, and I met some great friends in the team that I didn’t know before.’
Fans however feel that it is irrelevant that the Red Devils missed out on the star full-back as he probably wouldn’t have fulfilled his potential or developed at Old Trafford like he has under Guardiola at City.
Fans feel that Cancelo may not have developed the way he has at City if he joined United
Others agreed and also stated that no player the Red Devils sign has improved in recent years
Plenty of fans replied to the reports of United opting against signing Cancelo by saying: ‘No player we’ve signed gets better than when we signed them, so it hardly matters. He would never have become the player he is now if he’d gone to us.’
Another fan said: ‘I have not seen a player develop since 2014 so I doubt we would have seen the Cancelo of City at United. Thanks to the Glazers, brand United. We are ruining careers.’
One other fan stated: ‘Difference is, we had Ole, they have Guardiola. Cancelo would have been a flop at Utd.’
