Lucas Moura Gives New Reason for Rejecting Manchester United for PSG

Paris Saint-Germain starlet Lucas Moura has revealed that Manchester United's reluctance to let the midfielder stay in Brazil until the turn of the year played a part in his decision to join the Ligue club.

The 20-year-old midfielder was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford throughout last summer, but eventually opted for a move to the French capital in a move that reportedly went for €45 million, a record even by the PSG's lofty standards.

After agreeing a deal with Moura and his former club Sao Paulo last August, PSG formally announced that the Brazilian starlet would remain at the Brazilian club until January of this year, a factor which helped Lucas decide on his future.

"I was really close to signing for Manchester United during the Olympics last year," Lucas said, speaking to FourFourTwo magazine.

"It wasn't an easy decision but in the end I joined PSG, largely because they allowed me to stay in Brazil until the end of the year.

"And PSG's terms were better."

In an unusual move, Sir Alex Ferguson publically spoke about the club's pursuit of the highly rated Brazilian international last July, as United attempted to agree a fee with Sao Paulo while the midfielder impressed at the London 2012 Olympics.

After missing out on Moura, Ferguson angrily claimed that the "game's gone mad" after the Parisians eventually lured the player after a prolonged summer of speculation.

United had already signed Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell from Borussia Dortmund and Crewe Alexandra respectively by this point in the summer, but it would appear Ferguson saw something particularly special in Lucas to warrant such a persistent chase for his signature.

Moura has seamlessly taken to life in Paris, featuring in nine Ligue 1 outings for the club, in addition to starting in all four of the club's Champions League knock out ties home and away against Valencia and Barcelona, before being eliminated by the Catalans.