Manchester United are not prepared to activate Pedro’s release clause, according to reports.
The FC Barcelona winger has a £22million clause in his contract which if activated, gives him the right to hold talks with the team who have made the bid.
However, United are not prepared to pay that for the Spaniard and will only go as high as £17m, giving title-rivals, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool a chance to sneak in ahead of them.
The Premier League quartet have all been interested in Pedro at one stage throughout the summer, but it looked like United had won the race after selling Angel Di Maria to Paris Saint-Germain.
But fresh reports this morning are claiming that The Red Devils are refusing to activate the release clause, despite being told any bids of a lower value will be rejected.
Luis Enrique still wants to keep Pedro at the Nou Camp, and has told interested parties that they’d have to match the clause in his contract, which once stood at £107m.
United chief Ed Woodward is reportedly travelling to Spain in order to meet with Barca officials, but due to the winger being 28-years-old, they fear that he has no resale value, which is why they want to offer just £17m.
Barcelona technical secretary Robert Fernandez is also reluctant to see the winger go and has once again reiterated the importance of the release clause.
“[Pedro] has a release clause of €30m, and we are waiting for someone to make the offer,” Fernandez said. “His performance level is fantastic and the coach and we like him.
“We do not want him to go, but we know this is a risky situation, and we have to wait.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt