Manchester United’s rivals have gone to great lengths to prevent their star players from moving to Old Trafford in recent years
Tom Victor and Harry Brent Senior Sports Writer
11:00, 30 Jan 2026
Manchester United-related clauses have often complicated matters for the Red Devils(Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
It has long been understood that some footballers leverage interest from Manchester United to negotiate better contracts with their existing teams.
That said, there are also cases where players have seen their career paths shaped by very real contract clauses tied directly to the 13-time Premier League winners.
During the most recent summer transfer window, United ranked among the league’s heaviest spenders, shelling out more than £200million on Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens.
Notably, none of those arrivals came from United’s traditional rivals, Manchester City or Liverpool. In fact, no player has switched directly to United from either club during the Premier League era – and on more than one occasion potential transfers were actively prevented.
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Brahim Diaz attracted attention earlier this month following his missed Panenka penalty in the Africa Cup of Nations final. However, his connection to United-related clauses dates back to 2019, when he left City for Real Madrid under a particularly unusual agreement.
As reported by ESPN at the time, Madrid’s move, which could rise to £22m if all add-ons are activated, featured a 15 per cent sell-on clause. Crucially, if Los Blancos ever opted to sell Brahim to United, that percentage was said to jump to 40 per cent.
City’s sell-on clause will jump to 40 per cent if Real Madrid decide to sell Brahim to United(Image: Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images)
The one-cap Spain international, who later switched his international allegiance to Morocco, spent three seasons on loan with AC Milan but never completed a permanent transfer to the Italian side.
He returned to the Bernabeu under Carlo Ancelotti, lifted the Champions League trophy in 2024 and remained a squad member during Xabi Alonso’s brief tenure before the coach’s stint ended prematurely.
Brahim is not alone in encountering a Manchester United-related restriction after leaving a Premier League heavyweight for a Spanish powerhouse. Luis Suarez moved from Liverpool to Barcelona in 2014, but when his time at Camp Nou drew to a close, a switch to Old Trafford was ruled out.
Following Neymar’s record-breaking transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, Barcelona were keen to avoid a repeat scenario with Suarez. PSG and United were reportedly listed as prohibited destinations, alongside their arch-rivals Real Madrid.
United weren’t allowed to sign Luis Suarez from Barcelona in 2020(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Suarez made no secret of his disappointment when he was forced out of Camp Nou. Although he went on to join Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2020 and secure a La Liga title under Diego Simeone in his first season there, he remained unhappy with how events unfolded in Catalunya.
“What really bothered me was when they told me that I was old and that I could no longer play at a high level, be up to [the task of fronting] a great team. That’s what I did not like,” Suarez told France Football in 2021.
“If I hadn’t done anything at a club like Barca for three or four seasons, I would have understood. But, every year at Barca, I scored more than 20 goals per season. I have always had good statistics, just behind Leo [Messi].”
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