Reports: World-class defender rejects Manchester United move

What's the story?

Manchester United had made contact earlier today with Atletico Madrid about signing their 32-year-old centre-back, Diego Godin according to Sky Sports. However, it has now emerged that the Uruguay captain has rejected a move to Old Trafford.

Italian Sky Sports reporter, Gianluca Di Marzio, and BBC football reporter, Simon Stone, have both claimed on Twitter that Godin is not going anywhere.

#Calciomercato | Offerta del #ManchesterUnited per #Godin: ma il giocatore dice no: i dettagli 👇#MUFChttps://t.co/Z7TIj4k0Tw

— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) August 9, 2018

Understand @ManUtd did inquire about Diego Godin earlier this week. Nothing doing. Is set to sign a new contract at Atletico.

— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) August 9, 2018

In case you didn't know...

Diego Godin has spent eight years at Atletico Madrid and symbolizes their recent success under Deigo Simeone. The centre-back has enjoyed great success with Los Colchoneros and transformed into one of the world's best defenders during his time in Madrid.

In addition to a successful club career, Godin also captains his country, Uruguay, leading them to the World Cup quarter-finals this summer. While he is reaching the twilight of his career at the age of 32, the defender still has plenty left in his tank and is an important part of Simeone's plan for the upcoming season.

The heart of the matter

There is little doubt that Manchester United are becoming desperate in their search for a new defender. While they have been linked with numerous targets over the past few weeks, no deals have been completed and Mourinho is urgently seeking a new centre-back for the upcoming Premier League season.

The effort to sign Godin has come completely out of the blue as the Atletico defender was not previously mentioned among the many defenders United were targeting. However, with a third player rejecting a move to Old Trafford this summer, these are quickly becoming worrying times for Jose Mourinho and Man United.

Rumour Rating: 8/10

The story about Godin rejecting United has come from two respected journalists and is very likely true. While news broke about a potential move for the 32-year-old just a couple of hours ago, it emerged very quickly that the Uruguayan was not interested in moving to Manchester.

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What's next?

United will need to sort out their transfer business very quickly. It is an embarrassment for a club of their stature to continually receive public rejections from elite players. The transfer window closes at 5 PM GMT today and after that point, United will be unable to sign any more players. Therefore, they will need to work quickly to secure any signing in this window.