3 reasons why Manchester United refused to buy Mascherano
If you haven’t heard by now, David Gill has said that Manchester United turned down the chance to sign Mascherano twice, and were never interested in Tevez in the first place.
And while we waiting for another ‘foaming-at-the-mouth‘ article from Manchester United’s finest fans, you might want to consider that what Gill is saying actually has merit.
Gill says that:
“Tévez was never on the shopping list.
We watched Mascherano carefully and very closely. We were offered him at the start of the transfer window for a significant sum but the manager and his staff did not want to pursue that. We were also offered him last week in a loan-type deal for a year and, again, we were not interested. The experts in our club determined that we did not want to go for him.”
This is, if true, a very significant statement coming from the chairman of an EPL club. In effect, Gill is confirming what we suspected all along.
MSI (or rather, Kia Joorabchian) pimped Tevezcherano to a host of EPL clubs for a high price, looking to make a profit out of the deal. When that fell through (other teams could have rejected the players for funds or because of the presence of stars in the side), Kia went at it again with a loan deal which would apparently have had a lot of strings attached to it.
United refused both times. Basing on what we know about Arsenal’s meeting with Mascherano’s agents, we can safely say that they refused the loan deal as well.
Now this raises two questions - what the hell are MSI doing, and why did Ferguson turn down Mascherano? The first question I will answer in a future post, but as to why Mascherano was rejected, here are a few ideas - mind you, this is my opinion, you’re free to form your own - and do let me know if you think otherwise in the comments.
Why Manchester United turned down the chance to sign Mascherano
Reason #1: Mascherano was too expensive initially.
Here’s a quote from Joorabchian:
“Football is a very important business in the world and you can make success and achieve goals. A perfect aim . . . would be [for a club] to go from being worth £25m-£30m and in 15, 20 years to get sold at around £800m. You aim to make the club grow and to make the club strong for the supporters. You have to balance both aspects: the financial and the passion.”
Joorabchian wants to make money out of his assets, and realistically speaking Mascherano would command a 15+ mil fee if a top club was to come after him. Diarra went for 17 mil - you would expect Mascherano to fetch at least that much.
Manchester United spent 14 mil (rising to 18) on Carrick, and that has caused a lot of people to complain - but there is a possibility that Mascherano was being offered for more than 20 mil, or that Kia wanted United to enter a auction for the player along with other top clubs.
Reason #2: Manchester United don’t rate Mascherano highly / he doesn’t fit in with their plans.
That might be very surprising for some people, but hey, I watched the World Cup as well and for my money Owen Hargreaves is just as good a ball-winner as Mascherano and equally good at distributing the ball to forward players. It is quite likely that Ferguson wanted a player who would fit in quickly with the squad’s style of play - especially considering how highly Manchester United have emphasized the ‘team effort’ in their 3 wins this season.
Mascherano is unproven in a European league and would have had the same problems as other players coming directly from South America in settling in England. In comparison, Hargreaves would have had no such problems at all.
Reason #3: The conditions attached to the deals were not acceptable to Manchester United.
Assuming that Manchester United turned down buying Mascherano for a combination of the above two reasons, the only reason left for the club to refuse a loan-deal would be the conditions attached to the loan - rumours of ’sell-on’ clauses and what not have littered the newspapers since the deal went through, and it wouldn’t surprise me if United scoffed at the “opportunity” to help Kia Joorabchian a massive profit on their expense.
And as far as Tevez is concerned, why would you pay 20-25 mil for a striker when you have a similar player in Rooney?
Ok, I have argued that Tevez should be bought, and I still think that both Tevez and Rooney playing together would be excellent, but a far better combination would be Rooney and Henry (saying this to show the difference) - mainly because Henry is a different sort of player and Rooney would thrive in that sort of a striker relationship.
Saha offers Ferguson and United that option. Tevez wouldn’t have, and Nistelrooy did not either. You can’t buy every great player (unless you’re funded by a billionaire) and stuff them in your team, you need to find the right balance.
One last thing (and I’m saying this because it really annoys me when people I respect do this) - why is UnitedRant complaining like a little girl? This has gotten worse through the summer - I know that when we don’t bring in the players we need that is a loss for the club but do you have to be such a brat and complain about the past when it is bleeding obvious that Ferguson does not want to make the same mistakes?
OH is a box to box, JM is someone who sits inside his own half. of course the former would be more of a keano replacement.
I guess the really important question here is, ‘what qualifies as “a significant sum”?’ If MSI were after £20M+ for a player yet to prove himself in one of the top leagues then you can understand Gill and Ferguson’s hesitancy. If, however, he was available for less than £20M (which would still have represented a good return on MSI’s £8M investment in the player) then I think it was a risk worth taking and that United have missed a trick. The other, unanswerable question is ‘how much will he be worth next summer…?’
Another thing to be considered is that if United had taken Mascherano on the year long loan then they faced the very realistic prospect that not only would he learn a lot about the inner workings of the United team but that they would probably improve a good young player only to see him immediately move to their great rival in a move about which they have no control. A ridiculous move for United but probably not a bad one for West Ham, so good luck to them.
As much as its a big pity that ManU has failed to add a world class holding midfielder to our ranks, but the circumstances surrounding the transfers to West Ham are shrouded in mystery and controversy for all to see..
Its true that ManU needs a player of Mascherano’s class but should not we be giving our youth a chance? ManU signed Carrick who is a defensive midfielder who offers us a passing alternative. Hargreaves would have been a better fit for the midfield with his box to box style. It could be due to the transfer of Carrick resulting in the giving up of the pursuit of Mascherano.
Speaking of the new team, ManU’s new look ‘team’ philosophy could mean an equal sharing of responsibilities. Fletcher’s increasing maturity could mean this is the season that he stakes a spot in the 1st team. He could form a partnership with first Scholes and then Carrick.. Hopefully we could get reinforcements in the January transfer window to sustain a tilt at the title.
Its possible we could be looking at truly world class additions for next season when the hype over Torres dies down and Bayern drops their insistence at not letting Hargreaves leave.
Interesting article! I think you’re right on the money there with a lot of your opinions, including the comments about UnitedRant.co.uk. I used to be a big fan of their site but recently it’s becoming unreadable. The articles are getting more and more bitter and are sometimes hard to take as a red supporter. Keep up the good work on SoccerLens!
I would agree with most of that article. The problem is that David Gill is trying to placate the fans with the idea that we might still get Hargreaves. I don’t believe that for one moment. Maybe BM said they would let him know if they change their mind but he has used that to suggest that a transfer is imminent. They won’t sell him because he is one of the few players who is professional enough to focus again and play for BM with the same attitude as before. So, we’re left in the same position - desperately needing a player that fits the bill. I suspect that will be our downfall once again this season.
I have to admit I am in total agreement with Gill on this one. It’s clear that unlike some of us may think on the spur of the moment, United is being administered in a serious and totally professional manner, both at boardromm level (make no mistake, funds ARE available) as well as on the pitch.
I never really rated Mascherano (didn’t impress me at all in the World Cup) and OWEN HARGREAVES IS A MUST!!!! (worth waiting for as long as it takes). Also, Tevez is not really required. Saha & Rooney are fantastic. Solskjaer’s on fire again and Smith will soon be back to his 100% giving best. Not to mention Rossi back in January.
So, thumbs up all round to all concerned. Owen Hargreaves would be the cherry on the cake. He’s the final piece in the jigsaw a la Cantona in the nineties.
OH box to box? lets count the no. of goals he scored for munich. 4th choice for munich, he scored a single goal in 15 appearances in league. LOL BOX TO BOX.
I agree with galeo. Hargreaves, I too think, is better for us than Mascherano.
what does box to box has to do with goals? did keane score much bar his first few seasons? start watching some of his performances instead of searching the net for statistics.
We will get Hargreaves. It might be in January.. it might be in the summer. It could even be the summer after that, but we will get him. Theres no point in signing a GOOD PLAYER if he doesnt make the team better. Maschereno and Tevez both fit this category.
This article is absolute crap! Are you P.R. for Gill? United are becoming like Spurs of a few seasons ago. Throwing star names about during the close season; feeding the press with ‘who is coming to White Hart Lane’ drivel. Then buying nobody and throwing innocent arms into the air with a ‘WE didn’t say anything’, and the oft-times heard ‘There’s nobody out there better than what we’ve got’. CRAP! The FACT is that Gill said we were going to buy TWO world-class players BEFORE the World Cup….LIE! He also says he likes to go for transfers secretly to keep Chelsea out of the picture. Very commendable. Then conducts all his Hargreaves business in the Press! Even Fergie isn’t blameless. ‘Rossi is going nowhere before I have a replacement’…REALLY? Was S.A.F. being lied to? He also said that we were interested in Hargreaves BEFORE the World Cup. Then why was no bid put in? Someone is lying to the fans.THIS is what has got our backs up and I know where my money is!
I agree. Mascherano is just another good player. You dont have to go out of the way to buy him. Whereas ManU should have somehow landed Hargreaves. May be they missed the bus.
http://www.bluechampions.com
are you guys crazy? i think man utd shoudnt buy marcherano because they may but hagreves? i thibk man utd may vuy hagreves in another 10 years it can happpen. vut marcherano is a beter player and younger (22) so if united want to built up the future buy marcherano and dont wait 10 years for hagreves.
Cmon.. as all ManU fans go.. we should support our team.. i believe Sir Alex will give us a good season..
Like many others I watched Mascherano in world cup. he was playing in Argentina’s 5-man midfield and the 3 people playing in the middle were him, cambiasso and riquelme.
when the other team had the ball mascherano and cambiasso would both try to break the attack. when the ball was won mascherano would almost always find riquelme no more than 10 feet away from him. the ball was passed to riquelme and from then on, mascherano would just sit back inside Argentina’s own half and let Cambiasso move around riquelme and protect him or exchange passes with him.
Now I dont know about others but I dont think above level of skill is something we want to pay exorbitant amount to acquire.Also it remains to be seen if he can fit into the high tempo 4-4-2 usually played by Westham and certainly required in Man United.
Thank you so much for that final comment about United Rant..! I regularly log on to this site, UR and MEN for gossip, but they have been appalling over the past few months and can’t bear to read all the negative articles published there anymore.
Such a shame, they used to be an insightful and entertaining read.
The point UR is making, along side other Utd fans, is that the team desperately needs a ball-winning midfielder. It didn’t have to be mascherano, he was just one name being touted as all other options led no-where. The club had all summer to find such a player and failed. There is no point getting one in January as the league will all but be over.
How a club as big as Utd could find itself in this position is beyond me. We are perhaps the only team in the league with a weaker squad this year than last. We can only look to Gill and the Glazers as the reason behind this.
Hey Ahmed, I’d be happy to meet you for a pint before the next game to discuss but you dont go to matches, do you?
I think your site is a nice PR effort on behalf of the Glazers, who are only to happy to pull the wool over the fans eyes. But personal insults aren’t very becoming and cheapen your website. United Rant will never be silenced if we feel there’s a need to question to management of the club - as fans it’s our right.
With many regards,
The Editor
http://www.unitedrant.co.uk
finally some common sense…a nice break from the hysteria currently on offer at united rant. hargreaves is worth waiting for and he’s a better fit for the epl.
Typical United fans. Believing the Lies ur board are spitting out. This was the answer to ur KEANE dilema so why turn it down?
This is the final nail in united coffin, ur going nowhere fast. At least u hav a great history, u can rave about it for years to come as u hav 4 the last 3 years.
Thank you, at last, some common sense! I agree about United Rant, I used to go on there lots because I felt it was a good and insightful read. However, they are indeed getting worse, I find their treatment of Fergie to be nothing short of disgraceful, and rather than pick up on the positives, they just concentrate on the negatives, i.e. Wanting Carrick all summer, but criticising Glazer, prematurely saying that he wouldn´t provide the funds… When he did pay the money, they accuse Fergie of going crazy and imply that Carrick isn´t good enough.
In an ideal world, I am sure that we´d all like Mascherano, but if MSI wanted silly terms, then it was wise to turn him down and use that money for Hargreaves, maybe in January or next summer.
What a suprise Ahmed you didn’t publish my perfectly reasonable and truthful comment yesterday. Come on - I challenge you to a debate before the next home game at Old Trafford. Except you don’t go do you? Probably never have and probably never will. You claim to speak for the fans, and are happy to throw around insults but too cowardly to publish a retort.
with regards,
The Editor, United Rant
They would both just bugger off to Madrid or Barca as soon as they came calling. The only reason MSI have let them come to England is for the Wonga!!!! Fergie and Gill can see that hence the “we like to do business differently” quote. Besides Masch is a good holding player but not a box to box tackler and enforcer. He is suited to a 3 man central mid, with a playmaker and another worker next to him (cambiaso and riquelme) He is quality but not what we need at MU. Also we need stability, so whoever we sign has to really want to be here hence theinterest in hargreaves. We cant afford to make a big signing to have him leave for spain in a year or two. I think Ferogie is learning from the Ronaldo situation. Forein players although way more skillfull and technical will always prefer to play in Spain. We must get someone who wants to come and who will stick around. Oh he also needs to be quality. Easier said than done peeps! At any rate we are top of the league so lets not moan, if we start to flop then we can start discussing the january window moves. (Lets get TORRES in, he has already played in SPAIN and hates real. Maybe he would like it in Manc. Or mayve he would prefer AC or Barca. If he really wants to come, then lets have him!!!)
Cheers for listening.
@ iranian red
well may be u have watched mascherano only in the WC… he was given that role to play in the team by their coach and every player plays to his role.. RIquelme was the man and that is exactly wht both mascherano and cambiasso did the same thing… but is that what cambiasso does for his club???? nops.. same with mascherano.. he has played the roy keane role for for cornithians as both playmaker and ball winner.. just look at his no. of assists… however, i do agree on the point that SAF might have studied him last year and may have decided that he was a much bigger gamble in respect of the money that was being demanded for him….
@anirudh
You are right and I havenot watched many corinthians games.
however I know this far that playing in Brazillian league is nowhere as fast or physical as playing in epl.so mascherano might be a Roy Keane in brazillian league, but does he have what it takes to be another roy keane in epl?
that’s the kind of rather expensive question SAF might have asked himself.
as for me I cannot judge based on what I havenot seen of mascherano, but based on what I have (world cup)and from what I saw cambiasso actually looked more suitable or adaptable to epl…
“why is UnitedRant complaining like a little girl?”
They have the right to complain because they’re real fans. Have been for longer than most man utd supporters claim. And probably some of them have had Man U’s shares.
All I can think of, is why not mascherano for 20 mil and why carrick for 14+ mil.
A younger player, a world cup playing, international STAR for Argentina’s national squad, versus a player who barely figured in Tottenham’s team.
A player who can tackle, pass, cross, drive forward (although rarely) and score on the odd occasion even when playing out of position versus a player who doesn’t put in tackles, passes well and doesn’t even go forward, leave alone shooting.