The agent of Donny van de Beek has claimed that Manchester United beat five other clubs to the signing of his client during this summer's transfer window.
United announced on Wednesday that they had secured a deal for the Netherlands international, who came through the youth system at Ajax before going on to make 175 appearances for the first team.
According to Sjaak Swart, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Arsenal were all interested in the 23-year-old, but United "pushed through" to sign van de Beek on a five-year contract.
"Manchester United is certainly the right choice," Swart told Ajax Showtime. "There were more clubs with interest, such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Juventus and Arsenal. There were six in total, but it all came to an end because of the coronavirus.
"It was already a regular matter in March that he would go to Madrid, but because of the virus, all of that has been postponed. Clubs have no income, and they could not sell players. Ultimately, Manchester United pushed through, and that is, of course, a very nice club."
Van de Beek, who is likely to end up costing United in the region of £39m, could make his Premier League debut against Crystal Palace on September 19.
Matt Law
