Barcelona youngster Jean-Clair Todibo has opened up on the unsuccessful trial he had with Manchester United and how he never received an explanation from the Old Trafford club.
The 20-year-old French centre-back is highly rated, having recently spent time on loan at Bundesliga club Schalke. But he's revealed that as a teenager he was close to joining United after spending most of his childhood career with lower league French side FC Les Lilas.
Todibo eventually joined Toulouse's academy, before switching to Barcelona in 2019, where he is still contracted.
But it could have been very different as he has now revealed.
"It was crazy, I went from Les Lilas to United," Todibo told Onze Mondial. "It was a dream that was coming true when I hadn't done anything, really. It was just a trial. Everything went well, but I wasn't taken.
"I don't know why my trial didn't lead to anything. I still haven't received an explanation to this day."
Todibo, 20, is now targeting more first team football with Barcelona, having had a taste of regular top level action with Schalke. He is among Europe's most exciting young defenders coming through the ranks and could yet prove that United missed a trick by not signing him.
"For me, this season, I deserved more playing time," he said. "The first six months, when I arrived, I did not 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."
