Man Utd announce huge loss-making sale of star to UCL side, as Old Trafford nightmare mercifully ends

Manchester United have announced the sale of Donny van de Beek to Girona, and the full details in a heavily incentivised transfer – including the tiny fee and multi-stage add-ons – have come to light.

Van de Beek cost Man Utd £40m (£35m plus £5m in add-ons) when signed from Ajax way back in 2020. The Dutchman was a shining light in Amsterdam, though his spell in Old Trafford was gloomy to say the least.

Van de Beek featured just 62 times – most of which came from the bench – for the Red Devils over the next four years. Just two goals and two assists were returned.

Two separate loan spells were sanctioned, while the arrival of fellow Dutchman Erik ten Hag had appeared to offer a chance to kickstart his ailing United career.

Alas, Ten Hag barely saw fit to use the midfielder and with just one year remaining on his deal, Man Utd desperately sought a permanent sale.

Man Utd have now confirmed Van de Beek has been sold to Spanish side Girona. The club will compete in the Champions League next season for the first time in their history following their impressive third-placed finish in LaLiga last term.

Reacting to the move, Van de Beek wrote on Instagram: “Dear Manchester United family, today is a memorable day as my adventure at the club comes to an end.

“I want to thank you all for your support throughout the years. From the moment we arrived at Manchester United, we felt extremely welcome and we are grateful for that.

“Thank you to everyone at the club for making us feel at home. A special thanks to all the fans that made these years unforgettable.

“Besides the football, the birth of our two children here ensures that Manchester will always have a special place in our hearts.

“Good luck to everybody, we’ll meet again.”

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Sobering details in Van de Beek sale

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano revealed the full details in Van de Beek’s sale and they make sobering reading for United’s financial department.

Girona have signed Van de Beek for a tiny up front fee of just €500,000/£420,000.

The move is heavily incentivised, however, with easily-achievable add-ons worth around €4m/€5m present in the deal. Those particular add-ons are understood to relate to appearance targets in the 2024/25 season.

Furthermore, more difficult-to-achieve add-ons that could take the final fee up towards €15m were also negotiated. What they relate to isn’t yet clear.

Van de Beek has signed a four-year contract running until 2028 and his exit places him fifth on a rather dubious list…

READ MORE: Top seven Man Utd transfer losses: Van De Beek fifth, Martial second…