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If a team prioritizes a player's commercial value over their athletic ability, it's normal for the team's performance to decline. According to an anonymous former Manchester United player, senior executives at Manchester United once refused to sign a skilled player for commercial reasons, which is a microcosm of the team's decline over the past decade.
According to ESPN reports, this unnamed former Manchester United player revealed some internal situations during their time at Manchester United. At the time, the coach was Jose Mourinho, who wanted to sign Perisic, who was playing for Inter Milan at the time, to strengthen his team. Perisic had an excellent season at Inter Milan, scoring 11 goals and assisting 8 times in Serie A.
However, then-Manchester United executive Ed Woodward refused Mourinho's request, solely because Woodward believed Perisic was not viable "commercially" and not the right choice. As a result, Perisic did not join Manchester United. In the following seasons, Perisic scored another 20 goals and helped Inter Milan win the league title in the 2020-21 season. Missing out on such a talented player was undoubtedly a loss for Manchester United.
This wasn't the first time Woodward had signed or sold players for non-athletic reasons. The anonymous player also said that Mourinho once requested the sale of forward Anthony Martial because he felt Martial was not outstanding or reliable enough. However, this decision was again vetoed by the Glazer family, with Joel Glazer reportedly being a loyal fan of Martial. But as we know now, Martial's professionalism was questionable.
Therefore, the reason for Manchester United's decline can be attributed to the unprofessionalism of the senior management, spending big money on trivial matters, and ultimately leading to increasingly poor results. |
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