Barcelona wonderkid REJECTED Man Utd summer move

Stade Rennais defender Mikayil Faye rejected a move to Manchester United this summer, his agent has revealed.

The 20-year-old was linked with a Barcelona exit throughout the entire summer transfer window, with Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Man Utd among the clubs monitoring his situation at Camp Nou.

He eventually sealed a surprise move to Rennes for €10.3 million in August, although he is yet to make his debut for the Ligue 1 club.

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Faye’s agent, Andy Bara, has now confirmed that Man Utd wanted to sign his client this summer. However, the then-Barcelona defender wasn’t interested in moving to Old Trafford.

“Manchester United were interested in Faye, but he didn’t like that option,” Bara told the Inkubator podcast (as per GOAL): “He wasn’t a regular at Barcelona, so what did it matter if he hadn’t had the same at United? His development wouldn’t have progressed at all.

“Barca wanted a buy-back clause in Faye’s contract with Rennais, it was the only condition that Barca accepted. The clause is €30m. Now everything depends on Faye, on how he is going to develop.”

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Mikayil Faye rejected Man Utd

Man Utd were reportedly considering a move for Faye following their failure to sign Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite.

However, Erik ten Hag’s side eventually opted to sign Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt instead, with Faye ending up at Rennes.

The Senegal defender, who scored on his international debut against Gabon in March, joined Barcelona from NK Kustosija in 2023 and he spent one season in the club’s B team before moving to France this summer.

Faye didn’t make a single first-team appearance during his one year spell at Barcelona, although he managed to score four goals in 35 games for Barca Atletic in the 2023-24 campaign.