Joel Glazer could be about to look foolish at Man Utd if transfer decision made

Man Utd fans set off flares as they protest against the Glazers

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Manchester United could reportedly pay Anthony Martial an eight-figure sum to never play for the club again. And that would make Joel Glazer look rather foolish due to the fact the American once considered the 26-year-old to be the team’s very own version of Brazil icon Pele. Things haven’t worked out for Martial, who is currently a shadow of the player the Red Devils thought they were getting.

According to The Sun, bosses at United are completing whether to pay off Martial in order for him to leave.

The France international has failed to live up to expectations in recent years, despite showing some promising signs under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Louis van Gaal.

Martial pockets £240,000-a-week and is tied to the club until June 2024.

But United may now pay him off in order to ensure he departs and is able to play elsewhere, having grown tired of his lack of consistency.

Paying his current wages for the next two years would cost them in the region of £25m.

And Martial himself is eager to leave United behind, with Sevilla not ruling out landing him permanently this summer.

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Should United end up paying their No 9 to leave, it will make Glazer’s Pele comparison look even more foolish.

It was previously reported that the American had this opinion of Martial.

Quite how he reached it is another matter entirely.

Sure, Martial has had his moments. He scored 17 goals in his first season at the club, when Van Gaal recruited him from Monaco.

And he also struck 23 times in the 2019/2020 season under Solskjaer, propelling the club into the Champions League in the process.

Martial has long been inconsistent, however.

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He was particularly poor when Jose Mourinho was boss, with the Portuguese struggling to coax the best from his prized asset.

Pele scored a massive 643 goals during his club career for Santos, though he claims to have bagged even more over his glittering career.

And Martial, even when on form, has never looked like being a player in the same bracket.

If United end up writing the striker off, it seems like it will be another admission that Glazer got a decision wrong.

And what ultimately happens remains to be seen.

Martial isn’t the only forward whose future at United is currently uncertain as the summer transfer window looks closer.

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Cristiano Ronaldo may depart, with Erik ten Hag unsure whether the 37-year-old can fit into his system.

Real Madrid are interested in re-signing the veteran, four years after he quit the Bernabeu for Juventus.

Mason Greenwood remains unavailable pending a police investigation.

And Edinson Cavani is likely to leave United on a free transfer, with Boca Juniors and clubs from La Liga linked.

Meanwhile, regarding Martial,  the United striker recently confessed his future at Sevilla was ‘complicated’.

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“I see it very complicated to be able to continue at Sevilla,” he said.

“I’m not worried about that right now.

“I came knowing that it would be six months and then I would surely have to return to Manchester United.

“I’m very happy with the experience of playing in a new club, as big as Sevilla and having minutes again.

“If we manage to be a top four team, we will have achieved the goal and I will be happy for the fans, who have been very good to me since I arrived.”

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