Barcelona defender Jean-Clair Todibo has revealed that Manchester United refused to sign him after a trial during his teenage years.
Todibo began his professional journey to Toulouse, where he spent three years before being kidnapped from Barcelona for a free transfer in January 2019.
The career path of the French central defender could have been very different if United had decided to offer him a contract before moving to the Toulouse stadium from Les Lilas as a youth player.
The 20-year-old says he is satisfied with how he performed during his short trial with the Red Devils, but was left in the dark when they decided not to permanently put him on their books.
Our Mondial. “It was a dream that was coming true when I hadn’t done anything, really. It was just a test. Everything went well, but I wasn’t caught.” data -eagid = “23”> “It was crazy, I went from Les Lilas to United,” Todibo said Our Mondial. “It was a dream that was coming true when I hadn’t done anything, really. It was just a test. Everything went well, but I wasn’t caught.
“I don’t know why my trial didn’t lead to anything. I still haven’t received an explanation to date.”
The defender’s first year at Barca was frustrating, as it was limited to only five first-team appearances amid stiff competition for seats alongside artists such as Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti.
The Blaugrana has decided to send Todibo on loan to Schalke in the winter transfer window, and appeared in ten games for the German group before losing the end of the 2019-20 campaign due to an injury.
The International France U20 believes it has been wrongly omitted by the Barca team on several occasions in the first half of the season, while adding: “For me, this season, I have deserved more playing time.
“The first six months, when I arrived, I didn’t mind not playing because in training I saw that I didn’t have the level yet, but this year I would have deserved to play more. I didn’t have a big problem because it was the choice of the coach and I understand.
“If I’m a coach, I prefer to put Pique in Todibo. He has a real track record, he’s a great player – but I think I could have played some games.”
