Gary Neville Hints Man Utd Refused to Sanction £50m Star Transfer During Jose Mourinhos Reign

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has hinted that his old club went against the wishes of then-manager Jose Mourinho and refused to make a £50m bid for Bayern Munich's Jerome Boateng.

The 56-year-old Portuguese did not hide his feelings about the Red Devils' transfer policy during his time in charge, regularly using interviews to lament an apparent lack of funds from the board. Toby Alderweireld and Harry Maguire were both linked with moves to United during Mourinho's final summer at the helm, though a deal failed to materialise for either.

​Bayern centre-back Boateng was seemingly on the coach's list of targets, too, but the club's hierarchy were adamant that they wouldn't sanction such an expensive move for the World Cup winner.

Speaking on Sky Sports' Big Season Debate, pundit Neville stated (as quoted by ​Caught Offside): "What [​United's owners] the Glazers and [chief-executive] Ed Woodward have realised in the last 18 months is that they’ve stopped saying ‘yes’ to managers. Jose wanted to sign Boateng for £50m.

"I probably would’ve blocked that one myself if I was the owner of a football club," the former England right-back continued, hinting that Mourinho's seniors stood in the way of a deal for the German international.

The Red Devils have clearly been more careful with their business since the arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the dugout, though some will question the intelligence of eventually giving in and paying ​Leicester City £80m for Maguire.

During the 4-0 defeat of ​Chelsea on Sunday, the central defender looked assured and composed, offering a presence that will no doubt calm his fellow defenders in an oft-shaky backline.

Boateng is nearly five years Maguire's senior and has been on a steady decline for several seasons, whilst he also lacks the ​Premier League experience of his counterpart.

Source : 90min