Man Utd and Real Madrid tipped to move for free agent; Liverpool switch played down

Manchester United and Real Madrid have been touted as potential destinations for Adrien Rabiot, who is officially a free agent after running down his Juventus contract, but a move to Liverpool appears to be off the table.

Rabiot spent five years in Italy after leaving Paris Saint-Germain under similar circumstances, and played over 200 games in all competitions for the Old Lady.

The 29-year-old has been a favourite of Didier Deschamps at international level, cementing a regular place in France's side from 2021 onwards, and started the majority of their games at Euro 2024.

Juventus offered Rabiot a two-year contract extension to remain in Turin, but he rejected in favour of becoming a free agent. The rumour mill has been spinning for months over a potential landing spot, with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Liverpool often tipped to be the frontrunners for his signature.

Fabrizio Romano reports that Rabiot's dream is to play Premier League football, but Liverpool are not thought to be one of the sides taking an active interest in signing the central midfielder.

French publication L'Equipe state that United, on the other hand, are in the running for Rabiot, with a long-standing interest potentially laying the foundations for a summer move.

With Sofyan Amrabat back at Fiorentina following the conclusion of his loan and United duo Casemiro and Scott McTominay available and attracting interest from elsewhere, Rabiot would provide the necessary cover that manager Erik ten Hag would require at Old Trafford - a deal could also be looked at favourably because there would be no transfer fee to consider.

That in turn could allow United to continue investing in other problem positions, namely at centre-back. A £52m deal was finalised for Leny Yoro in midweek, but more money could be spent on Matthijs de Ligt, who Ten Hag recently admitted to having an active interest in.

Meanwhile, Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport say that after turning down Juventus' contract offer worth €7.5m per season, attention must now switch to 15-time Champions League winners Real Madrid and AC Milan, who are the only side believed to have made a concrete offer to Rabiot.

Madrid have a plethora of midfield options and recently tied Luka Modric down to a new one-year contract, but could be in the market for further experience after Toni Kroos announced his retirement from all forms of the game.

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