Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera, out of contract at the end of the season, is reportedly set to head out the Old Trafford exit door and join Paris Saint-Germain.
According to Duncan Castles of the Daily Record, contract talks with his current club have broken down and the Basque country native has agreed to a pre-contract agreement with the French powerhouse.
The contract deal will, according to various reports, raise Herrera’s wages from £80,000 a week to £200,000 a week. If that seems exorbitant, well there’s a couple reasons for that.
First, Herrera would be moving on a free, and that means the Ligue 1 juggernaut would have more money to spend on the 2016-17 United Player of the Year’s salary. Secondly, PSG have been strongly interested in finding midfield depth now with Adrien Rabiot being frozen out, and inevitably headed out the door.
According to the Daily Mail: “negotiations which started 18 months ago have reached deadlock” between United and Ander Herrera.
The Telegraph writes that “United are unwilling to be held to ransom” to the demands of the 29-year-old, who would be set for a major raise, should a last minute negotiation breakthrough be made and Herrera decide to completely reverse course.
The last time United sold a player to PSG, it was also a midfielder, Angel Di Maria in 2015.
Taking a brief look over social media today, United fans seem to be pretty split on the idea of Herrera leaving. Some are angry that that Juan Mata would be staying, but Ander Herrera is going. Others seem to agree with the board that the salary demands are too high for a 29-year-old, especially of Herrera’s stature.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.