Roberto de Zerbi has reportedly revealed the reason why he turned down the opportunity to manage Manchester United before joining French giants Marseille.

The former Brighton boss was one of several potential replacements for Erik ten Hag shortlisted by the Red Devils over the summer, before they eventually offered the Dutchman a new contract.

Ten Hag has since been fired and Ruben Amorim He will officially become Man Utd’s new manager tomorrow, but De Zerbi has revealed things could have been very different.

According to a French media L’EquipeDe Zerbi used an overhead projector to show the ‘“Contract offer” that Man Utd supposedly made him, with details such as how much he would have earned at the English club blurred.

The report states that From Zerbi He then told his players: “This is where I could have been, but I put my passion before money. “I came to Marseille out of passion.”

De Zerbi is currently going through a difficult period as Marseille manager, with the French team falling to fourth place in the Ligue 1 table after losing 3-1 to Auxerre.

The coach was furious in the locker room after the game and, according to the coach, told his players: “You humiliated me, you humiliated our club in front of our fans.”

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Man Utd wanted to replace Ten Hag during the summer

Man Utd had several high-profile managerial candidates on their shortlist ahead of the start of this season.

Together with De Zerbi, they held talks with figures such as Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino, but were unable to reach agreements with them.

Sources previously told TEAMtalk that Man Utd were ready to sack Ten Hag if they found a suitable replacement, but ultimately were unable to do so.

Those behind the scenes at Old Trafford were “both delighted and worried” when Man Utd won the FA Cup last season, as sacking the Dutchman was much more “problematic”.

All of that has led us to the situation we have now, with Amorim ready to take the reins and tasked with taking Man Utd from 13th to the top of the Premier League table.

Man Utd summary: ‘The next Odegaard’ targeted / New left-back wanted

Meanwhile, Man Utd are reportedly interested in signing Norwegian midfielder Sverre Nypan, who pundits have tipped to become “the next Martin Odegaard”.

The Red Devils have been linked with Nypan before and a recent report claims they are They still keep an eye on the teenager, even though they are now forming a team for a different coach than the one who first caught their attention.

Man Utd are said to be “seriously looking” for Nypan, who turns 18 in December but has already made 50 top-flight appearances for Rosenborg.

The recruiting team now believes that Nypan would fit well with Amorim’s potential tactics. Furthermore, the threat of other clubs getting ahead of them could encourage them to finalize their plans.

In other news, Amorim is reported to be interested in signing a new left-back in January to cover for injury-plagued duo Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw.

Reports suggest that Juventus star Danilo, who previously played for Manchester City, is on their radar. The 33-year-old is out of contract next summer and will be available for a nominal fee this winter.

He can play as a left-back, centre-back or right-back and his versatility, along with his affordability, is said to be attractive to Man Utd.

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