(London) By committing Friday for three seasons with Manchester United, Christian Eriksen wants to resume the thread of a career disrupted by his cardiac arrest during the last Euro, within a club which also seeks to reconnect with its glorious past .
Posted at 10:22
Updated at 11:28 a.m.
“Manchester United are pleased to confirm that Christian Eriksen has joined the club on a contract until 2025,” the Red Devils wrote in their statement.
This announcement materializes the agreement in principle reached on July 4, but which remained subject in particular to extensive medical examinations on the player, victim of a cardiac arrest on June 12, 2021, in the middle of a Euro match.
Eriksen had collapsed on the lawn of the Copenhagen stadium, before being revived after long minutes of anguish shared between players, spectators and television viewers.
His signing at Manchester United is above all the culmination of his almost unexpected return to football.
The installation of an internal defibrillator forced him to terminate his contract with Inter Milan, due to local regulations, but it allowed him to return to training first, then the path to the pitches and the Premier League where he shone with Tottenham from 2013 to 2020.
“Major ambitions”
Brentford, a club where a large part of the employees and some players are Danish, welcomed him for six months and accompanied him until his return to competition at the end of February.
A winning bet, since, in 11 games played, he greatly contributed to maintaining the club with a goal and four assists, showing that he had lost none of the talent, touch and vision of the game that had made him one of the best European playmakers.
He even found the national team, registering, at the end of March, a highly symbolic goal during a 3-0 friendly victory against Serbia, on the lawn where he had almost lost his life.
Always ambitious, at 30, and free of any contract, he still wanted to play the leading roles.
Contacts with Tottenham were unsuccessful and it was finally the Red Devils, after a pressing court of several weeks, who managed to convince him.
“Manchester United is a special club and I can’t wait to get started. I’ve had the privilege of playing at Old Trafford many times, but to do it in United’s red shirt will be an incredible feeling,” commented the player.
“I still have major ambitions in this sport, I know I can still do a lot of things and it’s the perfect place to pursue my path,” he added.
Packed by the Ten Hag project
Even if the arrival of Erik Ten Hag on the bench – a trainer whom everything leads to believe that he will be able to use him to the best –, helped to convince him, the choice is not without risk.
“I’ve seen Erik’s work at Ajax and I know what a wealth of detail and preparation he and his staff put in every day. It is obvious that he is a fantastic coach. After talking to him and learning more about his vision and the way he wants the team to play, I’m even more excited for the future,” explained Eriksen, who will join his team, currently on a pre-season tour of Australia. .
However, he arrives in a club in latent crisis for several seasons and under construction.
Without a trophy for five years, the Red Devils are in full reconstruction after losing Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata, all left at the end of the contract, therefore for free.
They could also soon lose Cristiano Ronaldo who wants to leave, unmotivated to play the Europa League next year.
On the arrivals side, Manchester United has so far only recorded that of 22-year-old Dutch left-back Tyrell Malacia, even if he does not despair of concluding that of Frenkie De Jong, Barcelona, or Lisandro Martinez , from Ajax.
The road to new titles therefore still seems long for the Red Devils, but the return of Eriksen could be a great source of inspiration for them.