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Disclaimer: This article aims to clarify some of the misgivings regarding Manchester United’s pursuit of Herrera, based on what Spanish journalist Lartaun de Azumendi has revealed. We advise you to draw your own conclusions. The opinions expressed in the article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the site.
Following the much-publicized deadline day saga involving Athletic Bilbao player Ander Herrera and Manchester United, fans took to social media sites to voice their anger at newly appointed Manchester United CEO Edward Woodward. Words likes “incompetent”, “idiotic” and “shoddy management” were thrown around, and for a while it seemed that the accusations from the fans were fair.
However, new evidence has come to light that hints at Athletic Bilbao’s involvement in the deal not going through, and that Manchester United never really had a chance to sign Ander Herrera, regardless of the transfer fee and the lawyers (who were first thought to be imposters). Bayern Munich had faced the same situation when they tried to sign Javi Martinez, but they exploited a loophole that not many people are aware of.
In his personal blog, Spanish journalist Lartaun de Azumendi – who co-incidentally works for Cadena COPE, the same radio station that first broke the news of Manchester United’s interest in Ander Herrera – reveals how Athletic Bilbao made it impossible for Manchester United to force through a deal, and that the same problems were faced by Bayern Munich last year.
To understand what happened in the Herrera/MUFC saga, we need to understand what happened the last time a club tried to buy a Bilbao player.
In case of the Javi Martinez transfer saga, Athletic Bilbao discovered that even if the player (Javi Martinez) deposited the buy-out clause cheque from the buying club (Bayern Munich), it still wasn’t enough for the deal to go through. The club (Bilbao) had to agree to receive the buy-out clause amount in their bank accounts, and since Bilbao had no intentions of letting either go of Martinez, or Herrera in this case, they simply refused to accept the money into their account.
What this meant was that the buying club (Bayern Munich) and the player (Martinez) had no say in the matter and that Bilbao’s decision would be the final word. This was a cunning way of holding onto players that the club didn’t want to sell.
But Bayern Munich contacted the Financial Council in Bilbao and complained to them about Athletic Bilbao refusing to accept the money. Since the Financial Council stood to gain money if the transfer went through, they pressurized Bilbao into accepting the deal.
Only when the Financial Council forced Bilbao did they accept the deal and allow the money to be deposited in their accounts.
Coming back to the Herrera deal, Azumendi reports that Bilbao were very confident that no matter what fee was agreed upon, the deal would not go through as Manchester United did not have the time or the knowledge to approach the Financial Council. Simply put, once Bayern Munich found a way around Bilbao’s system, Bilbao ensured that it remained a secret, so as to not allow other clubs to exploit the loophole in the future.
So Ed Woodward and the three lawyers, although having done everything right, never had a chance at signing Herrera, and it was simply a time-wasting tactic by Bilbao to hold on to their player. Had Woodward and co. known about Bayern Munich’s strategy to overcome Bilbao’s system, they still would not have had enough time to approach the Financial Council and get things done.
If what Azumendi says is true, then it explains why the three lawyers were told to go away when they visited the LFP headquarters late last night.
Why would Bilbao do this? It’s simple. Athletic Bilbao, as a matter of club policy, only accepts players of Basque heritage. Due to this rule, their talent pool is extremely small compared to other clubs, so they try their level best to keep on to every player they have. Even if it means resorting to unconventional methods.
In the last line of this blog post, Azumendi writes, “This is what I have managed to find on the Ander Herrera/MUFC deal. Now, it is up to you to draw your own conclusions as appropriate”.
Whether or not this is true, it does explain a lot about last night’s transfer saga. All the damage limitation that Manchester United have done since, the “bureaucratic reasons” and “could not reach an agreement” – it all smacks of trying to cover up the fact that they were caught completely wrong-footed by Bilbao’s tactics.
And by the time they realised what was going on, the deadline had already passed. And Bilbao had managed to hold on to Herrera.
Poor Ed Woodward. He has been villified by the club fans, but if what Azumendi reveals is true, then Woodward and Manchester United never really had a chance of signing Herrera.
Lartaun de Azumendi is journalist who works for Cadena COPE, and his blog can be found here.
