Why Brentford attempted to 'sabotage' £71m Man Utd transfer for Mbeumo

Bryan Mbeumo's £71million move from Brentford to Manchester United has finally been completed, but there is a lingering resentment towards the selling club from United

Bryan Mbeumo has finally completed his transfer from Brentford to Manchester United - but the deal has left lingering resentment between the two clubs.

Mbeumo has signed a five-year contract at United worth £200,000-a-week after the two clubs agreed a deal worth £71million, made up of an initial £65m and £6m in performance-related add-ons. He is the second major summer signing, after Matheus Cunha, and will join United on their pre-season tour of the United States on Tuesday.

United are delighted to have got the deal done, but there is some irritation by how long it took, with first contact coming months earlier in the summer transfer window. There was interest from Tottenham, Newcastle, Chelsea and Arsenal, and Brentford held their ground in negotiations.

The Bees felt United agreed a high wage with Mbeumo to take rival clubs out of the running for him, then began negotiations over the fee at a low starting point - £45m plus £10m in add-ons.

Former Brentford boss Thomas Frank, now at Tottenham, knew the price his old club wanted for Mbeumo, so Spurs were prepared to pay more than United, but the player insisted he would only go to Old Trafford.

Brentford put pressure on Mbeumo to reduce his wage demands, to increase the size of the fee they would receive, but United honoured his desire to join them by agreeing to pay him £200,000-a-week.

Sources involved in the deal claim Brentford wanted a fee of £70m plus £7m in add-ons for Mbeumo, but United managed to negotiate down that final figure, with the £6m add-ons relating to a mix of team and individual performances.

Mbeumo contributed 70 goals and 51 assists in 242 games for Brentford after joining the club from Troyes in August 2019. He has secured the club's all-time record transfer fee and director of football Phil Giles wished him well in a statement which made no mention of the tetchy departure.

“On behalf of everyone at Brentford, I would like to wish Bryan all the best for the future and thank him for his fantastic efforts over six seasons with us," Giles said.

“Bryan came to us as a teenager, and it has been an absolute pleasure for all of us here to watch him develop as a player and a person. Our fans have loved him, and he has been a part of some of our greatest days.

“There is always a right time for a player to move on and, for Bryan, that time is now. He has the opportunity to go to one of the biggest clubs in the world, and we are very happy for him.

“Bryan will always be welcome back at the Gtech. We look forward to seeing him in September and whenever our paths cross in the future.”