Bologna star Marko Arnautovic has revealed that Jose Mourinho wanted to sign him at Manchester United but the move couldn’t go through because the Red Devils had spent too much money on Paul Pogba.
Arnautovic was heavily linked with a move to United even last summer and the Old Trafford side had made approaches to sign the Austrian. But it was reported that United pulled the plug on the move, even though reports in Italy have stated that Arnautovic rejected the transfer.
Arnautovic spoke to Sportweek in an exclusive interview recently and he spoke about a range of topics including his childhood, controversies surrounding him and the relationship with Jose Mourinho.
On the Portuguese, who managed him at Inter, Arnautovic stated that he already knows how he has changed since their time together at the Nerazzurri.
He stated: “He already knows. He wanted me when I was at West Ham. He asked me: ‘How much does it cost?’ And I said: ‘Ah, do you still want me?’ But his Manchester United had already bought Pogba and they didn’t have enough money for me.”
Arnautovic, during his younger years, had drawn comparisons with a move to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and he gave his views on that comparisons too.
“It was an impossible comparison. He made me happy at the beginning, but boy, Ibra is Ibra. I’m not on his level. I take my hat off to his career. For me he is a friend, a brother, because even his life wasn’t easy at first.”
Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN
