Kieran Trippier has revealed he came close to joining Manchester United during the summer 2021 transfer window, but the move just “fell away” before he ended up at Newcastle United.
The right-back was coming off the back of a fine Euro 2020 campaign with England in which he played a significant role for the Three Lions on their way to the final.
At this point, Trippier was about to head into his third season with Atletico Madrid, but he was eager to return to England and had an offer to join United.
However, the move fell through and he stayed at Atletico for a few more months before signing for Newcastle in January 2022.
Trippier, speaking on The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet, said: “When I was in Madrid, the season before I left it was a tough year for me for numerous reasons. I just wanted to come back to England, my family was finding it difficult at the time.
“I could have stayed at Atletico Madrid, I could have signed a new three-year contract. [Diego] Simeone in the car park on the day I was leaving didn’t want me to go but it was the right thing at the right time for my family.
“As players you have to be realistic of where you can go. I knew I wasn’t going to sign for Manchester City or Liverpool, I knew I was restricted to certain clubs.
“United did come [in for me] straight after the Euros and that was very close. I grew up with my family being reds, but it didn’t happen. Everything happens for a reason.”
When pushed on why his move to United broke down, Trippier said: “It just fell away. Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] was the manager at the time and everything seemed perfect, I was chuffed, it was Manchester United, the biggest club in the world.
“It didn’t happen and I was back at Madrid. Six months later I was at Newcastle. Everyone raised their eyebrows, obviously people were saying he is going for the money, and he is going for this and that. I have made it clear many times that I took less money going to Newcastle than I did [staying] at Madrid. I didn’t have a relegation clause, even at the position we were in, I trusted the manager and that is a key factor to why I came.”
Trippier has played 92 times for Newcastle since joining the club, helping them become European contenders having initially joined with them battling relegation.
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