Mason Mount turned down the opportunity to be reunited with Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich and earn a higher wage packet in order to join Manchester United.
Mount completed his move to Old Trafford from Chelsea on Tuesday with United paying an initial £55m plus up to £5m in add-ons. He becomes United's first summer signing as manager Erik ten Hag readies his squad for Champions League football.
There were no shortage of suitors for the England international this summer with Liverpool and Arsenal both on alert due to their awareness he would leave Stamford Bridge. However, the 24-year-old had always expressed a clear preference to make a switch to the Red Devils.
Bayern Munich were also in the hunt to sign Mount. The German champions are currently coached by Tuchel, under whom the attacking midfielder found his best form in west London. Mount starred under the German boss as Chelsea won the Champions League in 2021.
The details are outlined by The Athletic, who outline how the Bundesliga giants were never likely to spend a transfer fee on Mount this summer but did issue a proposal that would have seen a verbal agreement reached next summer should the player not extend his Chelsea deal.
That report claims that Mount would have earned more if he had played out the final year of his Chelsea contract before joining Bayern, rather than joining United – where his wage bill will initially be higher than at the Blues – this summer.
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It is also detailed how a key moment in Mount’s contract negotiation breakdowns with Chelsea was when the club attempted to insert a clause into talks that would see his wages significantly reduced without European football. Such a mechanism had been accepted by Reece James, but was not part of other stars contracts at Stamford Bridge.
“It’s never easy leaving the club where you grew up, but Manchester United will provide an exciting new challenge for the next phase of my career," Mount said upon completing the move. "Having competed against them, I know just how strong a squad it is that I’m joining, and I can’t wait to be part of this group’s drive to win major trophies.
“Everyone can see that the club has made big steps forward under Erik ten Hag. Having met with the manager and discussed his plans, I couldn’t be more excited for the seasons ahead, and am ready for the hard work expected here.
"I am hugely ambitious; I know how amazing it feels to win major trophies and what it takes to do it. I will be giving everything to experience that again at Manchester United.”
