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| Pedro has chosen not to join Manchester United |
And two former Barca stars are believed to have played a huge part in persuading the Spain international that Stamford Bridge was a better option than Old Trafford.
Louis Van Gaal’s brutal treatment of former Barca keeper Victor Valdes may have had an influence on Pedro’s decision while the presence at Chelsea of former Nou Camp star Cesc Fabregas is also likely to have been a factor.
Pedro is understood to have spoken to both players to help make up his mind.
While confirming the club had ended their interest, sources at United would not elaborate as why.
But after chief executive Ed Woodward flew to Barcelona on Monday apparently to close the deal, it is difficult to accept that Van Gaal simply lost interest in a player he had made his No 1 target to replace Angel Di Maria.
United have been tracking Pedro ever since Di Maria ended his unhappy year at Old Trafford by moving to Paris St Germain earlier this month.
And although there is strong interest in Thomas Muller, he is a different sort of player and Bayern Munich are highly unlikely to sell whatever United bid.
As Pedro had a release clause of £21.1m, United could not have been outbid by Chelsea. United are so flush with money that suggestions they were haggling over the method of payment and that Chelsea were prepared to pay more up front are hard to believe.
It is also unlikely that Chelsea have offered Pedro a better contract than United.
What it boils down to then is that Pedro fancied Chelsea more than United, and preferred working with Jose Mourinho more than Van Gaal, who has also had a stand-off with his Spain international team-mate David De Gea.
United picked up those vibes and pulled the plug. But it is a major blow because Van Gaal had identified Pedro as the perfect player to give his attack the pace, creativity and goals it has lacked in the early games.
He said during United’s US Tour: "Whether we can win the title [in the next two seasons] is dependable if we can buy players with speed and creativity.
"You shall always be compared with other clubs. Barcelona without Neymar and [Lionel] Messi, their speed and creativity, they have Pedro behind.
"Bayern Munich: Ribery and Robben. After that they can change with Muller and they also had Shaqiri [now at Stoke City] at other times.
"Chelsea have [Eden] Hazard, Willian, Oscar — that is speed and creativity.
"[Ashley] Young had a great season. [Juan] Mata also. But they don’t have the speed of Hazard or Robben."
Now Van Gaal will have to turn his sights elsewhere with only a fortnight left before the transfer window closes. Apart from a lack of time, there are few players of Pedro’s quality available.
United have yet to respond to reports in Germany they have made a renewed £60m bid for Muller, having had a £50m offer rejected earlier in the summer.
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