The mysterious collapse of Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera’s move to Manchester United was not due to “imposters” posing as United officials,as was previously reported in Spain; it was rather due to the failure of United officials to understand the complexities of Spanish buy-out clauses.
According to the Guardian, Unitedwas not prepared to test the legal framework of the system and thus decided to pull out of the deal. Meanwhile, the three officials who arrived in Spain were not “imposters” as the Spanishpress claimed, but rather lawyers sent by United to Spain on Monday. After holding talks with league officials — and not Athletic Bilbao — the trio departed, citing “bureaucraticdifficulties.” They later told United that it would be too difficult to close such a deal so late in the transfer window.
So, faced with uncertainty and potentially extra tax costs,United decided to pull out. Once the deal collapsed, United strangely claimed it knew nothing about the three men, which is why they were reported as “imposters.”