Man Utd and Chelsea target 'offered to play for free' to secure dream move

Morocco's World Cup star Sofyan Amrabat offered to play for FREE in order to secure a move to Barcelona, according to reports.

Amrabat helped his side to a fourth placed finish in Qatar, overcoming Portugal and Spain on their path to the semi-finals.

His performances earned him plenty of interest from some of Europe's top clubs, including Premier League giants Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United.

Erik ten Hag was thought to be particularly keen to lure the 26-year-old to Old Trafford, having worked with him previously at Utrecht.

Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp was eager to sign the industrious midfielder, with the Reds in dire need of midfield recruits.

Amrabat offered to play for FREE

However, Amrabat's desire was to play at the Nou Camp, and was willing to do so for nothing, according to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo.

The report states that the midfielder was happy for his wages to be paid directly to Fiorentina in order to help fund his loan move.

This would have been in addition to the £5.3m loan offer the Catalan club were said to have lodged to try and bring him to Barca until the end of the season.

However, Fiorentina were able to fend off all interest, including that from Chelsea on transfer deadline day, who attempted to lure Amrabat to Stamford Bridge at the last minute.

Whilst Liverpool boss Klopp held a meeting with the player's agent to convince him to move to Anfield, but Amrabat preferred a move to Atletico Madrid, according to French news outlet Foot Mercato.

The Moroccon's contract at Fiorentina was set to expire in 2024, but Italian outlet Il Correire Fiorentino (via Football Italia) claimed that the club would activate their year's extension clause to ensure it would expire in 2025.

Either way, Fiorentina are under no immediate pressure to sell - meaning it may take a sizeable fee to convince them to part ways with one of their star assets in the summer.

Topics: Manchester United, Barcelona, Liverpool, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Serie A, La Liga, Premier League, Football, Transfers

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno