Posted on Thursday, 9th August 2012 by Chudi
Yesterday Manchester United conceded defeat in their attempts to sign Brazilian starlet Lucas Moura, after PSG confirmed they had agreed a deal to sign him in January.
Whilst some fans were annoyed that United had yet again failed to secure a transfer target, there is also a large section of fans that are relieved that PSG pipped us to Moura’s signature.
Although United could boast of being able to spend what they pleased in the past, this is a time of austerity at Old Trafford, a time where paying £6m in agent’s fees is baulked at and ultimately shied away from.
We may regret missing out on Moura in the future, it won’t be the first time, but as things currently stand I am amongst the large selection of fans that don’t mind because it was largely believed that had the Brazilian found a home at Old Trafford, one of our current residents would have had to move on.
That resident being Nani and his new place of residence potentially being the Santiago Bernabeu.
At the start of last month we implored the club to tie Nani down to a long term contract, and it was an idea you the readers largely agreed with. His impressive showings over the past 2 seasons, as well as his display in the Euros was all the confirmation needed to ascertain that Nani could hack it in the upper echelons of world football.
But if anyone is under any illusions about Nani’s quality, rewatch last night’s game against arguably the greatest team in the world, and join me as I say that the club should work to ensure Nani remains at Old Trafford for as long as possible.
I don’t need to tell you that playing against Barcelona isn’t an easy proposition. We have been mauled by them in two Champions League finals and whilst they were beaten to the Spanish title by Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid, I don’t think there is anyone that will be writing them off.
Last night Barcelona were as impressive as ever, but whilst Messi, Iniesta and co shone United more than held their own and Nani was arguable at the forefront of this.
This isn’t the first time Nani has impressed against the Catalan team, he opened United’s scoring against them last summer and in the 2011 Champions League final, despite having just a cameo appearance , I don’t think I’m alone in saying our attacks gained a bit more verve when he came on and perhaps he should have been introduced earlier.
Yesterday it would be fair to say that Nani was our biggest attacking threat, looking to take the game to Barcelona whenever possible.
As stated previously, playing Barca isn’t easy. Off the ball they hound you, forcing errors, whilst in possession they will tire you out with their ‘Tiki Taka’ passing. A lot of it is mental too, coming up against the best team in the world must be draining and you often see players mess up things that they normally get right 95% of the time.
But for some reason Nani doesn’t get flustered by Barcelona.
Even in the tightest of situations he is able to keep the ball. Being technically sound is one of the keys to competing against Barcelona, your first touch for example has to be spot on because they will be closing you down instantly. The ability to work under pressure is also key for the same reason, yet Nani is capable of both and displayed this yesterday. It was his smart and intricate play in the box that won the first half penalty that Wayne Rooney missed
Kagawa has been lauded for showing ingenuity in the final third, bolstered by actually having the ability to pull of the things he envisions, but I feel sometimes we don’t appreciate Nani’s ability to do the same.
There are still questions over his consistency and as he approaches his 26th birthday, this is something he should be sorting out but I feel that if he is given a bit more responsibility, and trusted by Sir Alex in the bigger games, we will see the best of the Portuguese winger.
In regards to his consistency you also have to factor into the equation the kind of player Nani is, he will try to beat 3 men and crack off a shot, he could cut this out and become functional like Valencia but that would mean he isn’t the player that we want him to be (few players would have the audacity the juggle the ball over 3 Barca players like he did yesterday).
Back to the matter at hand, his contract. If Nani is asking for 12ok a week, I don’t think you will find many United fans that feel he shouldn’t be paid this. He is clearly one of our best players and even if you look at it comparatively, with Rooney on £200k+ a week, and Lucas Moura apparently being paid €250k a week, he is worth the money.
Games like last night’s are as much about fitness as they are to gauge the gap between us and our rivals. Whilst there is still a sizeable gap between us and Barca, players like Nani continue to help us close the gap. Nani clearly has the ability to be a world beater, he isn’t far off it, so paying an astronomical fee as well as crazy wages and agent fees for a player that has potential but is far from realising it at the expense of one on the cusp of realising his would be folly.
Getting Nani’s contract sorted is still one of our most pressing pieces of business this summer, and the longer it runs the more there is a chance that it affects his efforts on field. Missing out on Moura could very well be remedied by Nani reaching the levels we know he can, we should therefore try and cultivate the best environment for him to do so, starting with a new contract.
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Tags: Lucas Moura, Nani
Posted in Blogs | Comments (36)
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August 9th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
What a load of b…..x. United had no intention of signing Moura, it was just a ploy to sell tickets. What makes me suspect this? You tell me when United have ever done their business through the press like they did on this occassion. They knew very well they’d never get him but it’ll show that we’re still trying to attract the best – still in the market for the top stars and future lights. All bluff I’m afraid. Thanks to Uncle Malcolm we don’t have two bstd pennies to rub together. We are a laughing stock in the transfer market. Get use to years more of the same too. We are being milked by the Glazers – that’s why we didn’t sign Moura, and why we won’t sign RVP.
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Jay Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Conspiracy theorist abound. All we did was confirm what the world knew already, that we had a bid in. Sao Paulo even accepted a bid and Moura agreed in principle before PSG made contact and offered stupid money for Him. Ferguson stayed back to finalise it, but it did not happen. Yes we are all disappointed. But because we lost him that means we were bluffing? How the hell do u come up with this mess? Now whilst I’m not a big fan of the debt leveraged takeover of our beloved club by the Glazers. You have to note a couple of good things. They have maintained and increased the commercial profitability of the club such that even with our large debt we are still the largest valued football club in the world. Our Revenues year upon year have increased. And most importantly they don’t meddle with The football side of things (short of adding a practical businessman’s view to transactions;albeit not always pleasing to fickle fans but in terms of good operating procedures, makes sense). Yes we want the dazzling but not at the expense of sound financial and business sense. But you don’t get that do u? U see a missed signing as an elaborate hoax deliberately designed to fool the masses. A conspiracy plot! Baseless assumptions is all that you are spewing.
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elhair Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 10:33 pm
If the Glazers hadn’t increased the revenue then we would have gone bust 2 years ago. Just think where we would be without the debt. We are very lucky we have Fergie as a manager as on the football pitch he is a genius but backing the Glazers is going against the fans. He has done brilliant by buying young kids and bringing them through. But, we can all see that last year we lost the title due to not having a strong enough squad. Again this year I feel he will need to produce the same magic as he did last year and hope we don’t get an injury to Rooney, Vidic or Evra.
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LUCIO Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
shit head
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August 9th, 2012 at 1:29 pm
i am also hopping we that we won’t sign RVP
Llorente/Lewandowski is better and moutinho & witsel would erase a dissapointment of this summer market
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August 9th, 2012 at 1:34 pm
fergie says its crazy to spend 45 mil euros on a 19 year old……..
He spent 45 mil euros on a 18 year old in 2004 (rooney) !!!!!
what a hypocrite….. just spend the money like you always have !!!!
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United Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Umm it was more like 32 million euros.
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Gorse Hill Red Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
Rooney cost £25 million not £35mill and even with the Euro valuation in 2004 is falls well short of €45mill. Also Rooney was a proven goal scorer in the Premiership.
Although I would have liked to see Moura at United no way should the club be held to ransom by these individuals and their agents.
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bolt Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
pound to euro in 2004 = 1.47
rooney cost 30 mil pounds
30 mil * 1.47 = 44.1 mil euros
not that much short is it….. and remember todays money is worth more than tomorrows so the value was actually more than 45 mil euros !!!
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bolt Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
regarding rooneys fee:
http://www.manutd.com/en/Players-And-Staff/First-Team/Wayne-Rooney.aspx?section=Quote
thats from official website !!!
Gorse Hill Red Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 4:40 pm
That’s a gross generalisation. Wiki is more accurate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Rooney
And don’t forget that there has been a recession since 2007 negating the small real inflaltion.
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August 9th, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Bollox
Fully understand your frustration at the lack of transfers in, but I disagree about the Moura deal. It has been reported we agreed a fee with his club and also personal terms. The contracts were only to be signed and maybe if he wasnt involved with the Olympics we might have had the player. The fact PSG came in and upped the bid and probably doubled his wage and paid the agent 6 mill on top had something to do with it.
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August 9th, 2012 at 1:49 pm
so why is he moaning about arsenal when we’re the only ones in for rvp??
you can pay 45 mil euros a decade ago for a youngster but cant folk out few extra pennies nearly a decade later for an established player??
DOUBLE HYPOCRITE !!
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When will you dumb ABU's Learn Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
Your obviously really dumb you either can’t read or your grasp of Maths is at the level of a two year old or possibly a scoucer. United didn’t pay 45 million euros for anyone just because you keep saying it won’t make it come true. SAF isn’t moaning about Arsenal he’s stating a fact were the only ones with a bid in but they arnt responding. Probably don’t want to sell to United but tough if that’s what the player wants.
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bolt Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 2:27 pm
I just gave you the link from man utd website that says we paid 30 mil pounds…….
its you thats deluded mate !!!!
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August 9th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
faggots.. keep name calling SAF.. he won u all the great memories u have of this club.. he won u more than half ur total amount of titles.. bite the hand that feeds u u morons, bite it..
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realist Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 4:13 pm
lol…..sucks doesnt it, stupid fools they are!
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August 9th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
@Bollox Totally agree with everything you said. The supposed courting of Moura & RVP is all just a cynical ploy to get fans excited and sell season tickets & to promote more interest from potential investors in the impending IPO.
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realist Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 4:14 pm
ok then….keep believing everything you read in the papers and on pathetic blogs online!
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August 9th, 2012 at 2:13 pm
glad MOura deal didn´t go through – too much moaning on some1 yet to kick the ball in Europe … Overpriced, hugely, end of.
Regsrding RVP – excellent player, no need to mnetion it perhaps, but we neither need him desperatly nore will buy him in the end. But would def. be a good addition.
Would love to see a CM coming, a ´finished´ player in his 24/25/26/27 ys of age, a worker too … but it seems like we are done on the arrivals.
I only we could at least tie NANI & DANNY to long term contracts, at the very least.
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bolt Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
wont be surprised to see danny go as well. they paying him 30k a week !!!!!
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realist Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 4:20 pm
if i knew ur stupid ass i would bet you any amount of money that danny welbeck goes no where.
#1stclassfool
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realist Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
agree we dont need moura…..any player that has agreed a deal with man utd then changes his mind for PSG clearly isnt what we need!
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August 9th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
to be honest….i care a dam if maura isnt come…i dontthink he wud have made it in the premier league…which brazilian player has….to be honest…..this deal broke cause of the agent….i m sure osg paid more then 6mil that the agent wanted….nd the wages reported here…are ridicoulous to be paid to maura….so forget it…i rather get rodrigez or munian for dat money….but for maura…no ways…
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August 9th, 2012 at 2:19 pm
bolt……hes saying were not the only ones in for rvp, do u know otherwise?
if u had half a brain u would realise the boss is just making sure us, the press rvp and everyone else knows that we want him but arsenal are holding out and trying to start an auction.
also i think 45 million euros for rooney is somewhere between 10-15 million away from the reality of what we actually paid so stop twisting facts, also how the fuck is moura an established player you fool, utd fans like u that are always slagging the great man off make me wanna vomit…..wish you would do one and follow chelsea!
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bolt Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 2:43 pm
if utd’s OFFICIAL WEBSITE says we paid £30 million ….. that means 30 million pounds.I gave the link earlier !!!
who knows more you or man utd? you my friend are a thick ****er if you cant understand that !!!!
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shot his bolt Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 4:22 pm
i believe who ever wrote that page on the clubs website was as mis informed as you are. im very confident the fee was 23 mill rising to a max of 27 depending on achievements. but i cannot prove this so shall end that argument there.
rooney however was a proven young english talent who was blatantly going to be englands best player for many trs to come and arguably was already at 18, although im sure you will disagree!
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Gorse Hill Red Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 4:44 pm
Bolt please look at the papers at the time and transfer websites. £30mill is not what we paid for him and its just a very genralised figure the website has put.
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August 9th, 2012 at 2:24 pm
RVP will be a united player, your all moaning about lack of transfers but we spent close to £50m last season, already this season we have kagawa which in my eyes at a price that was a steal, powell – one for the future and just waiting on arsehole wenger to let RVP go to the club he wants to join to get tropheys! Stop moaning and get behind the team.
Yes we all hate uncle Malcolm but unless we can get someone to offer him stupid money to sell the club then I’m afraid we are stuck with him for now
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August 9th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Fergie & d glazer family are decieving all united fans thex are bent 2 arsner wenger fashion & am smelling anoda trophyless season.
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August 9th, 2012 at 2:32 pm
How can united play real madrid,barcelona,bayerm munich & man city wen we(united) dont have gud defensive midfielder(4) and no central midfielder(5 & 6) no prolific stricker(9).
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realist Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 4:23 pm
WTF are you on?
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August 9th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
A Great article.. I was one of the fans that didn’t really want Moura (yes he could become world class later).. but I have not seen much of him to be impressed..
I was reading about him.. his fans a Santos (or whatever) used to called him “Choker” – not exactly the best tag to have for a player..
and Also he plays on teh right and with Nani and Valencia we have ENOUGH fire power there.. if anything we need a Left winger more as we only have Young and Giggs is coming along..
but I would go and say that wingers are not even the most important position.. We have a rare and unique situation where if.. and its a BIG IF, Anderson was the (finally) show his potential, IF Fletcher can get back (a long shot) and if Cleverley can stay injury free I think we are actually very good in the middle of the park..
Maybe a Dogged midfielder who likes to get the tackle in would be nice.. but we haven’t had one of those since the departure of Keane and we’ve been fairly successful in that time..
If anything I do think we should go for Sahin.. its a loan signing.. he’s a good player.. what do we have to lose??
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elhair Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 10:40 pm
I agree about Sahin but we are Man Utd we shouldn’t be loaning players.
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Chudi Reply:
August 10th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
Why not?
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August 9th, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Nani got too much skills for Ferguson’s liking he prefers more direct players. Moura is/was not the reason why the club haven’t renewed his contract, Ashley young is, fergie actually believe young is a better player that’s why he praised young at the end of the season saying he believes the boy got more goals in him, that basically was shots fired at nani’s camp to indicate he’s not really needed, if united had signed moura he wouldn’t have been a starter in front of Valencia and young. Ferguson once said sometimes you see a cow on someone patch and think that’s a better cow than yours, he almost fell victim of that expression. The club should be putting all their effort on renewing welbeck’s and nani’s contracts then invest in the missing puzzle of our squad( defensive midfielder) Awww THE MANAGER HAS NEVER USED ONE IN 25 years at united and as he said he’s not about to start, but even a blind person.can see we need that type of player. I read an article today which correctly stated that buying van persi is like buying a new carpet when you have a hole on your roof top loool so true and they explained how we would spend up to 75 mil on him by the time he’s contract is over that’s actually like the berbatov case bought him @30 mil paid him millions worth of wages now he’s bought to leave for next to nothing, calculate the losses, add that with 7 mil on Bebe and 3 on obertan. Ok you can say on the flip side 7 mil on Xavier and 14 shinghi are good investments but I can’t help to feel that despite all the cries for value and such united have actually been misspending during the past few years, we’ve been buying gd players with potential (Jones) and average one dimensional players (young) when what we really needed was defensive or central and attacking midfielders. If I wake tomorrow and found out that united have spent 100 mil on Martinez or Witsel I wouldn’t be mad because to me the price doesn’t matter as long your getting a world class player and most importantly a player who’s gonna add a new dimension to the squad, but if I wake tomorrow to find we’ve invested a million on van persi I’ll feel like its mis spent or wasted money because we don’t need him we dint need moura unless if you was letting young go instead of nani
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