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The Thiago deal has stalled somewhat of late, and one of the reasons for it could be interesting. According to Graham Hunter, the midfielder has demanded a similar clause in his Manchester United contract as he has at Barcelona, whereby he would be allowed to leave for free if he didn't play a certain number of games.
Apparently, Giovani Dos Santos' time spent languishing at Tottenham Hotspur is one of the reasons his family have demanded the move, as they know the family well. Over to Hunter:
#Thiago - so many asking about him that it might be interesting to share a small detail about why things have slowed down re #United
— Graham Hunter (@BumperGraham) June 28, 2013
#Thiago's dad and his agent would like any contract at #United to include the same clause as he is currently using at #Barca
— Graham Hunter (@BumperGraham) June 28, 2013
ie if he isn't given an agreed number of mintues/starts then there would be a fixed price in his contract via which another club could buy
— Graham Hunter (@BumperGraham) June 28, 2013
#Thiago's family know the Dos Santos family well and they watched how Gio Dos Santos languished at Spurs without being given enuff game time
— Graham Hunter (@BumperGraham) June 28, 2013
Precisely what kind of tax is due when a foreign club uses a buy-out clause in the contract of a La Liga player, & how that tax is incurred
— Graham Hunter (@BumperGraham) June 28, 2013
#Thiago. ... remains to be analysed and sorted out. Whether moving to Bayern or other clubs tempts him, I don't know and he's on hols now
— Graham Hunter (@BumperGraham) June 28, 2013
So, there you have it. This shouldn't be reason to panic - we should guarantee him these games if he asks for it. United haven't had anywhere near the problems bringing through youngsters that Spurs have, and if he can't break into our current midfield then he'd have to be a pretty poor player. I don't see this as any reason we should be allowing the deal to hold up, so hopefully it won't be.