Meunier reveals he would cycle to Old Trafford as United dream stays alive at Sunderland

Thomas Meunier has confessed that Manchester United remain his dream destination, telling Belgian outlet Walfoot he would cycle to Old Trafford if the club ever came calling — even as the 34-year-old settles into life at Sunderland following a free transfer from Lille this summer.

The Belgian right-back, a boyhood United supporter, was candid about the hierarchy of clubs he would have chosen given a free hand. “You don’t always get to choose exactly where you want to go,” he said. “Otherwise, I’d have gone to Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, or Manchester United!” He was quick to add, however, that Sunderland’s approach won him over. “Their pitch was good. The conversation with the manager was, too: you spend an hour on the phone talking football, and you realize you’re dealing with a guy who simply loves the game — just like I do.”

The Netflix documentary Sunderland ‘Til I Die also played a part in his decision, with Meunier citing it as a factor that made the Championship club feel familiar before he had even set foot in the north-east of England.

On the prospect of one day joining United, the former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain defender was characteristically self-aware about the risks of living out a childhood fantasy. “If they ever ask me, I’ll cycle there,” he said, laughing. “But maybe it’s better this way. Suppose I play there and have a bad time. I wouldn’t want to hate Manchester United, because I love that club so much.”

Meunier also attends United matches as a fan, describing a recent visit to watch them face Athletic Bilbao from the stands. “In with the fans, singing, à fond,” he said. “Je suis un vrai. I go to watch them at least once every season. But of all the home games I’ve seen in all those years, they’ve only won two. You have to have a self-cruelty side to be a United supporter, right?”

Perhaps the most striking revelation was that Meunier came close to joining United during his time at Dortmund, only for the move to fall apart in murky circumstances. “I could have signed for Manchester United. I didn’t have an agent. And the coach there at the time clearly directed me to his agent so I could sign for Manchester United. I refused, and I didn’t sign.”

He stopped short of naming the individual involved but used the episode to highlight a wider problem in the game. “That’s also the negative side of football. There’s a lot of money at stake. And even coaches work with agents specifically to place players and get paid. I have 45 examples like that. Now, I can’t prove them all, so I won’t name any names. But it’s something that, in my opinion, still happens far too frequently.”