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Premier League duo passed on chance to sign Vidal

Manchester United and Manchester City turned down the chance to sign the former Juventus midfield dynamo from FC Bayern Munich due to his age and dodgy knee.

Chile and Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal

Bengaluru, August 5: Chilean star midfielder Arturo Vidal who recently joined Spanish La Liga champions Barcelona, was rejected by both Manchester clubs as per reports in England.

Both Manchester United and Manchester City turned down the chance to sign the former Juventus midfield dynamo from FC Bayern Munich due to his age and dodgy knee.

Both Manchester giants were offered the chance to take on Vidal before his move to Camp Nou but passed over fears of his ability to maintain his aggressive style of play.

Vidal has had two different surgeries on his knee with the Premier League duo shocked by Bayern's sky-high valuation of £27million.

Man City boss Pep Guardiola has been in the market for a central midfielder this summer, while United are considering parting ways with Paul Pogba but both clubs have missed out on their chance to land former Juventus star Vidal.

It is indeed a surprise to see Pep Guardiola who had previously worked with Vidal at Bayern, did not sign him even after getting the opportunity of landing him and despite him wanting a new central midfield player.

Meanwhile, Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has hit back at criticism of Barcelona's signing of Arturo Vidal, saying that it's important for the club to have different types of midfielders in the squad.

"Vidal is someone we hope can add energy in midfield," the Barca coach said in a news conference at Levi's Stadium. "We know he has a lot of experience. The amount of games he's played for his previous teams is very good. He has a big presence and he doesn't disappear on the pitch.

"It's the same as with Paulinho (last summer). He has a different profile to what we already have, which is important. There was lots of controversy over the Paulinho deal last year and lots of criticism before he played one minute - and then he was a really good player for us.

"At a club like ours, there's room for everything, for all types of players. Some may appear not to fit at first, but we're trying to enrich our team with different profiles."

Story first published: Sunday, August 5, 2018, 12:14 [IST]
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