Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev believes Manchester United could have signed Neymar or Luis Suarez with the money they paid for 19-year-old Antony Martial.
Louis van Gaal’s side completed an astonishing initial £36m deal for the teenager on Tuesday and the deal could rise to as much as £58m depending on how successful the forward becomes.
The United boss sought reinforcement to his frontline in the final days leading up to the transfer market following a mixed start to the season that has seen them score just three times in four league matches.
Having been linked with the links of Neymar throughout the summer, it came as a surprise to most when it emerged they had made a move for the highly-rated Martial and Vasilyev has revealed his own surprise to the size of the deal.
“On Sunday the player got such an offer that he couldn’t have declined,” Vasilyev, told the Sun. “He asked us to find a solution and on Monday morning Manchester United made an offer to Monaco which the club couldn’t refuse.
“It’s absolutely unique. It’s the price of Luis Suarez or Neymar – the best players in the world.”
United’s new No9 may be an unknown quantity to most, but since the start of last season no teenager has scored more goals than Martial (9), with eight of those coming since the turn of the year.
For more stats on Antony Martial, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
