Rijo Sam Daniel
Manchester United loanee Anthony Martial opens up on rejecting Barcelona and Juventus for Sevilla
Manchester United loanee Anthony Martial has revealed the reason for choosing to join Sevilla and rejecting Barcelona and Juventus in the process. He moved to Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium in the January transfer window on a loan deal, which will see him remain with them for the remainder of this season.
The Frenchman had already played a game for Julen Lopetegui’s side this season when they faced off against Osasuna in La Liga. He had endured a tough debut on the day as they were held to a 0-0 draw. The result was made worse when Real Madrid won their match through a late Marco Asensio goal and extended the lead at the top.
Speaking in an interview with the Spanish news outlet Diaro de Sevilla (h/t Fabrizio Romano), Martial confirmed the interest from Barca and Juve last month. The striker added that both of them were trying to facilitate a move, but he had other plans. He finally mentioned how Sevillistas were always his first choice, which is why he rejected the other offers.
“Barcelona did speak with my agents in January, Juventus wanted to sign me and they were pushing – it’s true, but my priority was Sevilla. Here I’ve the chance to be a starter, to play regularly as I wanted.”
What’s next?
It is good to know that the 26-year-old had chosen Lopetegui’s team due to the availability of minutes. He might have realised that the Blaugrana side and the Bianconeri may not have allowed him the opportunity to get as much game time. That shows how he still has the drive to turn around his stagnated career.
While the Red Devils loanee had a tough start to life and suffered criticisms from his manager, he always has the chance to do better in the coming months. Setbacks are a part of the struggles the forward must face if he has plans to rekindle his playing career for the better.
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Who knows, the France international could still have a future with us if he ends up enjoying a successful spell in Spain. That could also help him breakthrough into the national team squad for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. It would be challenging since Didier Deschamps’ team is filled with talented individuals, but the task is not unattainable.
As for the Man United ace’s prospects with us, the potential exits of Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard could hand him a lifeline next summer. The latter duo is in line to become free agents at the end of this season. Ralf Rangnick is only managing on an interim basis and will take over as a consultant next term. So there is a chance for the French forward to have a long term future with us. However, he would need to perform with Sevilla for that to be the case.
