Manchester United’s Hannibal Mejbri has divulged his reasoning for choosing Sevilla to join on loan this month.
The 20-year-old had the pick of numerous clubs to spend the remainder of the campaign with after Freiburg, Olympique Lyonnais and Sevilla all established their interest in a temporary deal.
When he reached an agreement with the latter, Everton stepped in at the 11th hour to try and hijack the move and bring Hannibal to Goodison Park, however, they were unable to convince him.
Reports have suggested that United would’ve preferred to see their youngster gain more Premier League experience with the Toffees, but honoured his decision to try out a new venture in La Liga. There is a buy option of €20 million included in the terms, as well as a buy-back clause of €35m.
Hannibal explains transfer preference
Awaiting his debut for Los Rojiblancos, the Tunisian told club officials and supporters in his unveiling why he was convinced of their project at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan – and his United teammates played a part in his reasoning.
Having fallen to a 3-0 defeat in Sevilla last season, which saw the Reds exit the Europa League in the quarter-final, the players were made well aware of how passionate and vocal the home supporters can be.
“Sevilla has won many games against United in recent years. I wasn’t in the team then, but I saw the games, the quality of the team, the fans,” Hannibal explained, via Manchester Evening News.
“The game here was crazy. Before coming, my United teammates told me about the fans, the atmosphere there. It’s nice to play for a team with fans like this because they help you when you’re in difficult times. I’ve heard a lot about them and I’m looking forward to seeing them and playing for them. I hope they like me as much as I like them.”
