Amrabat opens up on Man Utd exit ‘ask Mr Wilcox’ , ‘I hope they lose’

SOFYAN AMRABAT has revealed that Erik ten Hag wanted to keep him at Manchester United - but the Old Trafford hierarchy had other ideas.

The midfielder also sent a cryptic message to club chief Jason Wilcox ahead of United's visit to Fenerbahce in the Europa League tonight.

Amrabat spent last season on loan at Old Trafford from Fiorentina and racked up 30 appearances across all competitions.

He impressed towards the end of the campaign, producing an excellent performance in the FA Cup final win over Manchester City.

But that was the last time he would wear the United shirt.

On his exit, he told The Mail: "I have a special relationship with Ten Hag since I was a 20-year-old at Utrecht.

"He wanted to keep me this summer so I wish him the best but not for Thursday. I hope they lose."

The Morocco international was then asked if he'd like to share anything else about his departure.

To which he cryptically responded: "The only thing that I want to say is that you have to ask Mr Wilcox."

Wilcox, 53, is the technical director at Carrington who has overall responsibility for "football performance, recruitment and operations".

Ten Hag wanted to activate the option to permanently buy Amrabat for £21m but the United echelons thought otherwise, opting to go for Manuel Ugarte from PSG for £51m instead.

Despite a strong performance in the FA Cup final, ongoing injuries meant that he did not start a single Prem game between Christmas and the end of April.

Amrabat expressed his desire to join United on a permanent basis after falling in love with the city and the club in an otherwise difficult season.

In fact, Amrabat reportedly refused to train with his Fiorentina teammates in a bid to try and force through a return to M16.

United mulled over the prospect of re-signing the 28-year-old but a deal failed to materialise.

He joined Fenerbahce on loan in August and is set to feature in Thursday's Europa League tie against his former side.

Amrabat will join another Old Trafford outcast in Fred, under former United boss Jose Mourinho, who lifted the Europa League with the Prem giants in 2017.

Fred revealed that he was also emotional when United sold him to Fenerbahce for £13m last summer.

He told The Mail: "It was tough because we had adapted to life in Manchester and my wife was pregnant. But football is like this and Fenerbahce supported me a lot."

When the Europa League draw pitted Fenerbahce - who beat United 2-1 in their last encounter eight years ago when Mourinho was manager - against the Reds, Fred was straight on WhatsApp to his former team-mates.

He revealed: "I messaged Bruno Fernandes saying 'We will kill you' and he responded that 'No, we will kill you'.

"But then my friend got a red card against Porto so he won't play with us."

He admits there is still a tinge of sadness seeing United struggle.

He added: "They are not in the best moment but I support them.

"I'm upset when they don't get good results or don't play well but against us, it's different. On Thursday, they can't play well."