Both MU and Man City are preparing to liquidate some outstanding stars in the summer transfer window. It sounds easy but successful or not is a completely different story.
Just a few years ago, the situation of the two giants of Manchester was very different. MU seems to be on the momentum of revival under Erik Ten Hag, at the end of the title drought in the first season of the Dutch coach and winning the 3rd place in the Premier League. The Champions League attendance has returned to Old Trafford and fans who have a reason to be optimistic. Meanwhile, Man City is enjoying the position of the “king” of England and Europe, with the title of World Championship Club is only a matter of time.
But since then, everything has changed a lot. Man City is currently in the process of rebuilding the squad after being deleted by Liverpool to win the Premier League. Pep Guardiola's team is struggling to find the same dominant performance as before, just eligible for the Champions League and being eliminated from Al Hilal from the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. What about MU? The Red Devils ranked 15th in the Premier League last season, without attending the European Cup, and owning a patchwork team that needs to be “replaced” thoroughly.
The summer transfer window this year is a key time for both MU and Man City to send a strong message to the rest of the tournament. The sale of players will be as important as recruiting rookie – and it is likely that the two teams in the same city will have to confront each other directly in the transfer market.
Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish both had an impressive 2022/23 season: Rashford for the first time in his career in 30 goals, and Grealish was an important link in the journey to win the historic “treble” of Man City. However, since then, the value of both has decreased seriously, and now they can leave this summer.
Rashford informed Man United that he wanted to leave the club, while Man City was also looking for a buyer for Grealish. Although Rashford and Greealish are two very different players, both have a high salary and the host clubs do not want them to leave at a low price. MU wants to earn 40 million pounds for Rashford, and the same number is thought to be enough to recruit Greealish this summer.
Few people can imagine that Rashford and Grealish standing in front of the prospect of being liquidated just a few years ago. However, finding a new stop for these two players will not be easy, especially if they refuse to reduce the current salary. That is why despite being speculated with many teams, Rashford and Grealish have not been able to leave Manchester.
Is the requirement of 40 million pounds too high? Maybe this is a barrier, because everyone sees Rashford and Grealish how dumbfounded in the 2024/25 season. With Rashford, even when he came to Aston Villa in a borrowed form, he was actually just his shadow despite still a few impressive performances. Meanwhile, Greealish is even more tragic, almost completely sinking in Man City.
Let's wait and see MU and Man City will solve these two “debt lumps” like next time. Extremely not, the two clubs will likely have to sell at the right liquidation price, instead of trying to find a partner ready to spend 40 million pounds as expected. For example, in the case of Rashford, 25 million pounds may still be criticized …
