Marc Casadó Picks Deportivo After United Skip a Bid

Marc Casadó joined Deportivo A Coruña on loan from Barcelona on September 1, with a €30 million option to buy. Manchester United, long described as having an edge through agent Jorge Mendes, never put a bid on the table.

The 22-year-old defensive midfielder wanted weekly football after a bench year at the Camp Nou. Newly promoted Deportivo gave him that seat in the last hour of the window, and United spent the summer paying Premier League prices for other midfielders instead.

Manchester United Never Tabled a Bid for Casadó

Spanish reporting in June said United had been circling Casadó for months and that Mendes’s long relationship with the club could smooth a deal. Michael Carrick liked the profile: a ball-winner from La Masia who can also fill in at right-back. No formal offer followed.

Barcelona still tried to place him in England in mid-August, after Hansi Flick had already told him he was not in the plans. United were in the market for a Casemiro successor, yet the file stayed in the tray. By then Carrick’s staff had other names in the building.

FC Barcelona posted the departure itself on September 1, a short note and a wave goodbye rather than the sale the club had spent three months chasing.

https://x.com/FCBarcelona/status/2094908323493482902

The newsroom text confirmed a loan of Marc Casadó until 30 June 2027. There was no fee, and no mention of United.

A Call at 00:30 Reopened Deportivo’s Door

Deportivo sporting director Fernando Soriano told the player’s presentation that the Galician club had asked early in the window and been told it was impossible. Other destinations were live. Then the market ran out on them, and on him.

HOW THE LOAN CLOSED

1. June 16, 2026: United are described as interested. They still have not tabled a bid, with Casadó on a Barcelona deal to 2028 and a modest asking price in the air.
2. August 18, 2026: Barcelona make him available and he is offered to United again. No move follows.
3. August 21, 2026: Mendes meets Casadó in Barcelona and runs through European options. The player, advised by his family, rules out Saudi Arabia.
4. September 1, 2026, 00:30: Casadó’s agent rings Soriano, a little more than 23 hours before the window shuts, and says the door might now open.
5. September 1, 2026, 23:52: Casadó’s registration goes through. José María Giménez’s loan from Atlético Madrid lands at 23:58.

Soriano said wage space was the snag until that last morning, when talks with Barcelona moved fast. Fabrizio Romano had already posted a verbal deal with a €30m buy option before the paperwork landed. Deportivo had to stretch a promoted club’s books to get there.

Why Casadó Picked Riazor Over the Premier League

Casadó chose Deportivo because he already knew Riazor. Three years earlier he played there for Barça Atlètic on the night Deportivo went up to the Segunda, a 1-0 win in front of about 30,000 on May 12, 2024, and the club even held talks about taking him then. Barcelona blocked it by promoting him. The memory did the rest this time.

Three years ago, when we played here with Barça’s reserve team, we had talks with the club. We considered coming here, but Barça offered us the chance to play for the first team. It didn’t work out, but I left that match with an incredible impression of Dépor, because of the stadium, the fans, the way the game went. When they offered me the opportunity, the memory of that match pushed me to make that decision.

Marc Casadó, midfielder, Deportivo presentation, September 9, 2026

He also said it had been a long summer, much of it noise. He was on holiday in Tanzania with his phone in airplane mode while relatives sent messages that he had already signed for clubs he had never joined. Flick’s midfield simply had no regular place for him, and minutes in La Liga beat a well-paid seat on someone else’s bench.

Coach Antonio Hidalgo had wanted him for months. Both men come from the Vallès Oriental, and Hidalgo’s side needed a midfielder who can live without the ball and still pass when the game opens. Casadó said the first job is to stay in the top flight, then pick up points with work and a bit of suffering.

Saudi Money and Milan Could Not Shift Him

From June onward the file sat on Mendes’s desk as a sale Barcelona needed and a player who would not leave Europe. Atlético Madrid appealed to him. Milan were sounded out on a loan with an option. Besiktas and Galatasaray stayed in until the last days. Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli and Al-Nassr had the cash to clear Barcelona’s books in one go.

WHERE THE SUITORS LANDED

Barcelona’s problem was the shape of every serious European offer. The club wanted a sale that helped the accounts. Casadó wanted a loan that kept a Barcelona contract that runs to 2028 intact. Deportivo’s €30 million option is the compromise: the fee Barcelona asked for, parked in a clause a promoted club may never pay.

United Paid £65m for Baleba and Moved On

Casemiro left Old Trafford on a free on July 22 and joined Inter Miami. United’s first answer was not a 22-year-old from La Masia. It was a midfield that already plays in England.

UNITED’S MIDFIELD INCOMINGS

• Andrey Santos: Signed from Chelsea on July 13 on a deal to 2031.
• Youri Tielemans: Signed from Aston Villa on July 14 on a five-year contract.
• Carlos Baleba: Signed from Brighton on August 25, five years plus an option, while still out with an ankle injury.

Fees logged against those deals are £48m Santos and £35m Tielemans, then an initial £65 million for Baleba with £5 million in add-ons. That is £148 million before the add-ons. Director of football Jason Wilcox called Baleba an elite midfielder with room to grow. The Baleba medical came a week after Casadó had been offered to United.

The original Casemiro plan had been Atalanta’s Ederson, until that collapsed. The Ederson medical scare that froze other deals pushed United toward Santos and then Tielemans, and later toward Baleba’s legs. A Barcelona backup on a loan would not have closed that hole in the same way, and Carrick did not pretend otherwise by bidding.

Barcelona Leaves Without the Casadó Fee

Flick’s middle of the pitch was already crowded before Rodri arrived. Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Marc Bernal, Gavi, Fermín López and Dani Olmo were all ahead of Casadó, who logged 1,397 minutes last season across 34 matches and started 15. He is a Spain international with two caps, and he still could not get a run of starts.

CASADÓ AT BARCELONA

• 75 appearances: One goal and seven assists in all competitions.
• Titles: Two La Liga crowns, one Copa del Rey, two Spanish Super Cups.
• Path: Joined in 2015/16, Barça Atlètic in 2022/23, first-team squad under Flick in summer 2024.
• Age: 22, born September 14, 2003, in Sant Pere de Vilamajor.

On the same deadline night Álvaro Cortés left for Antwerp and the Fernández twins, Guille and Toni, went to Mallorca and Venezia. Ansu Fati, Héctor Fort and others had already gone. Casadó was the biggest of the late academy exits, and the one Barcelona had hoped would bring in a cheque.

He trained away from the group in the last weeks after Roony Bardghji wrecked a knee in a session, a caution Barcelona applied to anyone they still wanted to move. Then Deportivo called, the Riazor memory did the rest, and the sale became a loan. He debuted at Villarreal on September 5 and was presented in A Coruña on September 9, already talking about Hidalgo’s pressing and a year of regular games.

United have their midfield. Barcelona still have his registration until 2028 unless Deportivo find €30 million. Casadó has the minutes he asked for, on a coast he chose for a night in 2024, not for a Mendes shortcut to the Premier League.

Frequently Asked Questions

When Does Marc Casadó’s Loan at Deportivo End?

The loan runs to June 30, 2027. Because his Barcelona deal lasts one more year after that, he is due back at the Camp Nou unless Deportivo take up the €30 million option, which Transfermarkt lists with conditions rather than as a straight obligation.

How Many Barcelona Games Did Casadó Play, and Where?

Of his 75 first-team matches, 49 were in La Liga and 19 in the Champions League. His debut was a Champions League night against Viktoria Plzen in 2022/23, before Hansi Flick made him a first-team squad player in summer 2024.

Who Is Marc Casadó’s Agent?

He is represented by Jorge Mendes’s Gestifute agency. He moved to Mendes in November ahead of this window, a switch made so the summer of offers, from Milan to Saudi clubs, would sit with one of Europe’s most connected agents.

What Shirt Number Is Casadó Wearing at Deportivo?

He has taken the No. 6 shirt at Deportivo A Coruña. That is the number logged against his loan registration, with the Galician club listing him as a defensive midfielder who can also play in central midfield or at right-back.

Has Marc Casadó Played for Spain?

Yes. He has two senior caps and no international goals, and Transfermarkt now lists him as a former Spain international. Those two appearances were not enough to keep him ahead of Flick’s other midfielders once the 2026/27 squad was trimmed.