Louis van Gaal showed interest in signing Arsenal target and French international striker Karim Benzema from Real Madrid, according to Los Blancos president Florentino Perez.
The Spaniard gave a statement saying that there was no official bid for the Frenchman, who used to play for Ligue 1 side Lyon, but Louis van Gaal did show interest in the player.
Instead, United went in for Monaco’s Anthony Martial, who could make his France debut on Friday night as Les Bleus face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
Martial’s initial fee was £38 million but that could almost double if certain add-ons come into play during his career – such as being named in FIFA’s top 20 players in the world on the shortlist for the prestigious Ballon d’Or at any stage.
Cristiano Ronaldo won the award when he was a United player and has won it a further two times at Real Madrid – back to back in 2013 and 2014 after watching Messi pick up consecutive awards before that.
Arsene Wenger toyed with the idea of bringing Benzema to Arsenal but eventually ended up not making any outfiled signings, with the Gunners’ only incoming transfer this summer being Petr Cech from rivals Chelsea.
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