Manchester United have officially announced that they have allowed defender Alexander Butner to leave the club after failing to secure a first-team spot in the two years he spent at Old Trafford. The 25-year-old was signing from Vitesse Arnhem two years ago. In his first season at United, he won the Premier League title. He was very much expected to be the first choice left back this season under David Moyes, but he failed to dislodge Patrice Evra from this position. As the Frenchman was widely expected to leave United this summer, Butner’s first-team opportunities would have increased in the upcoming season.
However, United offered a new 12-month contract for Evra at the last moment. This coupled with the potential arrival of Luke Shaw in the next few days for £ 30 million is likely to deteriorate his first-team opportunities even further. Butner has completed his move to Dinamo Moscow for an undisclosed transfer fee. This move will also see the return of the player to the Champions League, which is a competition that is unavailable for United in the upcoming season. Butner thanked the United supporters for their love and affection during the two years.
The 25-year-old stated that he is moving to Russia in order to win league titles. Dinamo Moscow are one of the top teams in the Russian league.
“I want to play in the Champions League and win trophies. Dinamo have a very strong team and I believe we can fight for first place [in the Russian league] this season,” said the defender. “Dinamo Moscow has great plans for the future and they want to challenge for the title. To stay at Manchester United was not an option. In the past two years, Louis van Gaal has ignored Buttner time after time [for the Netherlands national team] so what kind of view does he have when Van Gaal becomes his new club coach?” said the player’s agent.
