Manchester United offered Jadon Sacho lower wages than he is on at Borussia Dortmund to sign him this summer, according to reports.
Sancho, 20, represented United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's No 1 target during the summer transfer window, but Dortmund's £108million valuation proved an insurmountable obstacle despite months of on-off talks.
But according to The Athletic, the Old Trafford club were never on the verge of signing the England star and that initial calculations for a deal rose to a staggering £227m (€250m).
The report claims that United - conscious of maintaining their wage structure - initially proposed a salary that was less than Sancho's total pay packet at Dortmund, before second offer in early August only matched his Dortmund deal, with the potential for a marginal increase based on performance.