FC Lorient goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo has revealed that he turned down the chance to move to Manchester United in the summer.
Since signing for United in the summer of 2023, Andre Onana has firmly secured himself as the club’s number one option, already playing 67 times for the Red Devils in all competitions.
However, Altay Bayindir has failed to make much of an impact as he has only been called upon three times in cup competitions and is still awaiting his Premier League or European debut for the club.
This led to rumours that the Turkish keeper was unsettled and wanted to depart Old Trafford.
Subsequently, United were on the lookout for a new number two before Bayindir ultimately decided to stay at the club.
In an interview with Blick, Swiss keeper Mvogo claimed that he turned down the chance to move to United in the summer window.
According to the 30 year old keeper, he wanted to leave Lorient as they had just been relegated to the second tier of French football and in his own words, he wanted to “continue to compete and prove myself at the highest possible level. I knew it could be problematic if I played in the second division.”
The Swiss international claimed that “there were a lot of offers” but he had not anticipated how tough the market would be due to the amount of keepers available on a free transfer, which of course he wasn’t, as Lorient were owed a transfer fee for his departure.
The experienced shot stopper then revealed he had an offer from the Premier League giants but that he could not take it up for one key reason.
Elaborating on the topic he said, “Manchester United for example (wanted him as number two). But that wasn’t an option for me. I’m not happy if I can’t stand on the pitch. I currently want to enjoy my time on the field, together with fans and teammates. I want to play for titles and ideally win them.”
Mvogo never got his move and has played 13 times this season in Ligue 2 for Lorient.
He may not have long to wait for his return to the top flight, however, as les Merlus stand second in Ligue 2 after a strong start to the season.
Featured image Stuart Franklin via Getty Images
Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
