Bebe

Manchester United could have signed Bebe for £125,000, way short of the £7.4million they ended up paying Vitoria Guimaraes for his services, according to the Portuguese striker's former coach.

And Jorge Paxaio, coach of the 20-year-old striker's former team Estrela Amadora , says the club offered him around Europe for just €150,000 as they needed to raise money to avoid going bankrupt last year.

"Last season we had no money at all," Paxaio told the Daily Mail. "We were trying to transfer Bebe to other clubs.

"We had to raise money desperately. We told everyone in England and in Europe: 'For 150,000 euros you can have him.'"

"We couldn't get anybody interested. Nobody trusted him. None of the clubs were interested because he had never played at a high level."

"I was surprised with the sudden way it happened with United," he continued. "I was hoping he would move to a bigger club in Portugal or a medium-sized club in Europe.

"I didn't expect Manchester United . Having said this, Manchester United have signed an extraordinary player."

Bebe’s former agent, Goncalo Reis, said, "Bebe would have been very cheap during last season and then we tore up the contract because he wasn’t being paid by Estrela and so then he was free.

"A scout from United could have contacted me or the club last season. There was no secret. But I understand that the United scout just saw certain games in Portugal and only realised Bebe was a great player when he saw some pre-season games involving Guimaraes.

"If they had looked wider they would have seen him earlier and paid very little. But everyone was the same."