Manchester United striker Anthony Martial admits that he thought that he would be spending the season at Monaco.
The Red Devils paid a whopping initial fee of €50m on transfer deadline day to prise the French forward away from Monaco and the final figure could rise up to €80m, based on his performances.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has revealed that he didn’t make an approach for Martial as he thought that Monaco were not interested in selling him in the summer and the player himself also felt the same.
The 19-year-old revealed that he was ready to spend another season at Monaco as the club were not prepared to sell him, but admits that once Manchester United came up with their offer, he was ready to move as he wanted to play in the Champions League.
“Basically, I was told “untransferable” so I thought I was staying at Monaco”, Martial told RMC.
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“When I knew that this offer came, I did not hesitate a second and it was done quickly. I really wanted the move, and I really wanted to continue to play in the Champions League.”
He also revealed that Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal spoke with his family to convince them about the move.
“Van Gaal called me and spoke to my mother who did the translation. When I arrived in Manchester we met, we discussed things at length and it was done quickly.”
Manchester United’s capture of Martial was considered a panic buy by many, but the criticism has died down because of his early performances as a Red Devil.
