It has been reported that Manchester United claim they were forced into paying a record fee for Anthony Martial due to rival bids.
The fee, which reportedly could rise as high as £57.6m, is a world record for a teenager.
“Barcelona, Paris St Germain, Chelsea and City were all in on pre-contract for Martial next season,” a United source told the Daily Mail.
“We paid a premium to get him now. It is similar to what we did with Ronaldo – and that turned out OK.
“The player has been watched a number of times. It was only when Monaco lost in the Champions League play-off to Valencia that it became something we could do.”