£59m Man Utd star DESTROYS Real Madrid ‘regret’ rumour as Liverpool ‘pitch’ for ‘generational talent’ revealed | OneFootball

Manchester United defender Leny Yoro has made it clear that he has no regrets about turning down Real Madrid despite claims to the contrary in the Spanish media, as a respected journalist reveals how the French star rejected a move to Anfield and play for Liverpool.

Yoro has been an important player for Man Utd under manager Ruben Amorim so far this season, with the French star establishing himself as one of the three centre-backs in the Red Devils’ 3-4-2-1 system. The 19-year-old has made 10 appearances in the Premier League this campaign, seven of which have come as starts.

This is the first time that Yoro has started to look like the star player that he was expected to be when Man Utd signed him from Lille back in the summer of 2024 for a transfer fee worth up to £58.9million (€68.3m, $80m), including add-ons, with injury and fitness problems behind him now.

It is well-documented that Real Madrid and Liverpool were among the clubs that tried to sign Yoro when he was at Lille.

It was Man Utd who were willing to meet Lille’s demands, but there have been suggestions in the Real Madrid media that Yoro have been having second thoughts about his decision to move to Old Trafford.

In August 2025, Defensa Central reported that Yoro’s ‘regret’ had ‘reached Real Madrid’, but Los Blancos had already signed Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth by then.

It was the same Real Madrid-centric news outlet that reported in June 2025 that ‘the worst thing for Leny Yoro is the feeling of having made a serious mistake’, adding that ‘the defender feels regret for not having accepted the Madrid club’s offer last summer’.

However, Yoro has dismissed those rumours by revealing that he does not regret turning down Madrid.

Yoro told ESPN: “This is some choice you need to make in your career.

“I’ve had a couple of clubs, not just Madrid or United, I had a lot of clubs. Today my choice is Manchester, so I’m really happy with this.

“I know some people talked about this last year because of the results.

“I can understand them, but honestly, it’s my choice, my career. I know what I’m doing, and I’m just going to be better in the future.”

Why Leny Yoro rejected Liverpool for Man Utd

Yoro’s revelation that he rejected Madrid for Man Utd comes just days after journalist Ben Jacobs disclosed why the defender turned down the chance to move to Liverpool in 2024.

The respected journalist revealed the message that Liverpool gave to Yoro about being patient and developing, but the teenager felt that playing regular first-team football for Man Utd would be better for his career.

Jacobs said about Yoro on The United Stand Podcast: “He didn’t go to Liverpool, but it’s fascinating because the Man United pitch was, ‘If you join us you’re playing every week, you’re going to be an instant hit. You’re going to be chucked straight in at the deep end’.

“They did that. He got injured instantly, and he’s still kind of growing into that role and that ability to start week in week out.

“Liverpool said to Yoro, ‘If we sign you, you’re going to have to be patient for two years. Not because we don’t rate you and not because we’re stifling you, but we think you need two full years of development in training and to be eased in. And that’s what’s going to make you a generational talent’.

“Man United’s approach was more chuck him in at the deep end and see what happens.

“And I actually think that has set him back a little bit. So what’s going to happen is in the next six months or year and a half, Yoro, if he can stay fit, will suddenly become that generational talent, but it’s taken him a little bit more time.

“So Man United won the race by playing a bit to the sort of player’s ego of you’ll be far more regular than at Anfield.

“But I actually think Liverpool’s pitch for his development might have been the more sensible one.”

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