Ander Herrera admits he ‘started to think’ he would be playing with compatriot Alvaro Morata before Manchester United pulled out of a deal for the Real Madrid forward.
Jose Mourinho quickly identified the Spain international as Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s heir and the club made an initial approach in May, ahead of Real Madrid’s Champions League final against Juventus.
Negotiations rapidly progressed in the first half of June until, coincidentally, Morata’s wedding on June 17. United later switched their attention towards Everton striker Romelu Lukaku.
And, with Lukaku’s £75m move having surprised a few people, Herrera admits he had been planning for life with Morata come pre-season.
“I even started to think I’d be playing with Morata. He was really close to signing,” he said after Sunday’s win over LA Galaxy.
“It’s a shame he’s not with us but he’s a top striker and will do well wherever he plays.”
Mourinho handed Morata his first-team debut at Real Madrid back in 2010.
And, speaking about the interest for the first time, Mourinho revealed the deal fell through because the two clubs could not agree a fee.
“I don’t like to speak about players who aren’t ours,” he said on Sunday. “Because Morata is not our player. I am nobody to speak about players from Real Madrid.
“Yes, we have had interest, that is obvious and it’s public. We have not come to an economic agreement, that is obvious as well. But it’s a Real Madrid’s right to ask for their players the amount of money that they want. We do not determine what the price is of a player of Real Madrid, Real Madrid do that.
“And we didn’t arrive at an agreement with Real Madrid. I do not criticise Madrid and I am not going to criticise my board because my board has made the offer, and they have tried to reach an agreement during a time, and they didn’t come to an agreement. It’s simple.”
Source:www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk