Nemanja Matic to Manchester United deal held up as Chelsea squabble with rivals over bonus clauses on £50million fee
Blues want add-ons included in, based on results and number of games he plays
NEMANJA MATIC’S planned £50million Manchester United move has been delayed by a squabble over bonus payments.
It is believed the Chelsea midfielder has already agreed terms to make the switch to Old Trafford.
But the deal will not go through until the clubs can agree on extra payments United will have to make to the Premier League champions, based on their results and the number of games played by the Serbia international.
United boss Jose Mourinho is a big fan of the 28-year-old from their days working together at Stamford Bridge and wants him as his holding midfielder.
Matic was left out of Chelsea’s pre-season tour of Asia and has been working on his fitness at the club’s Cobham training ground.
United are hopeful the deal will go through this week once final details are ironed out.
Matic was seen training with injured pair Eden Hazard and Pedro last week while the rest of the squad were in Singapore.
United had a £35million bid for Matic rejected earlier this summer, with Chelsea imposing a 'Lukaku tax' on the fee.
Nemanja Matic factfile
- Born in Sabac, Serbia, in August, 1988.
- He began his career aged five at Vrelo, where he was coached by his father, just 500m from his house.
- In 2005 he signed for Serbian club Kolubara, and then moved to Slovakian side Kosice in 2007.
- He spent time on trial at Middlesbrough before Chelsea beat Sunderland and Tottenham to sign him in August 2009 for £1.5million.
- After two first team games, Chelsea sent him on loan to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem.
- In January 2011 Matic was sold to Benfica along with £21million in exchange for Brazil defender David Luiz.
- He flourished at Benfica, was named Portuguese Player of the Year and reached the Europa League final, where they were beaten by Chelsea.
- In January 2014, Chelsea, under manager Jose Mourinho, signed him back for £21million, and he made his second Chelsea debut against Man Utd.
- He has won two Premier League titles in three seasons at Chelsea, and last season played 40 games, scoring twice including a stunning strike in the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham.
- Matic is a strong tackling defensive midfielder who is tactically disciplined and at 6ft 4in tall is very good in the air.
- His brother Uros is also a professional footballer, with FC Copenhagen.
- He is married to childhood sweetheart Aleksandra, who he met at school, and they have two children.
Both Antonio Conte and Roman Abramovich signed off on the sale of Matic to their rivals.
The midfielder started 30 Prem games as Chelsea romped to the title last season, but the Blues brought in Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco this summer.