Adrien Rabiot agrees next move after months of Man Utd links | OneFootball

Adrien Rabiot has agreed to join Ligue 1 giants Marseille, the French side have confirmed.

Rabiot has been a free agent since his Juventus contract expired in the summer and was in no rush to agree to his next move, happy to wait until the transfer window had closed to find the best offer available.

Manchester United, who are long-term admirers of Rabiot, were once again heavily linked with the midfielder, but it is Marseille who have won the race for his signature pending a medical.

For 29-year-old Rabiot, it is a return to France for the first time since 2019, when he departed Marseille's fierce rivals Paris Saint-Germain. The two sides will meet in Le Classique, one of the most hotly anticipated fixtures on the French calendar, in late October.

United's interest in signing Rabiot this summer is not believed to have been particularly advanced. The Red Devils had chased his signature in both 2022 and 2023, even holding talks with his mother and agent last year.

Veronique Rabiot denied suggestions a move to Old Trafford fell through because of her financial demands in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport in 2023, when the midfielder ultimately rejected the chance to leave Juventus on a free transfer in favour of a one-year contract extension.

"United wanted to meet me to illustrate their interest in Adrien, but we never talked about money in detail because he quickly decided to stay in Turin," Veronique said. "There were never any real negotiations, and we are on excellent terms with Manchester United."