Manchester United are copying Man City transfer trick to beat FFP concerns
Facundo Pellistri might no longer be a Manchester United player, but club officials will hope the winger continues to shine as he begins his career away from Old Trafford.
The Uruguayn's permanent exit was confirmed with a £5.1m move to Panathinaikos on Wednesday, with a further £1.7m due in add-ons, but the most eye-catching part of the deal was the size of the sell-on United had negotiated with the Greek outfit.
Whether Pellistri shines or not in Greece, United will pocket 45% of his next fee. If the 21-year-old is sold at a loss that won't amount to much, but if he thrives for regular game time and lands a bigger move, then a substantial sum could be heading back to fill the coffers at Old Trafford. Pellistri will hope to find his way back to a big five European league and United will hope he can achieve that as well.
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Sell-on clauses have gradually become more common in the game and United are starting to latch on. Almost all of the deals they have done for the sale of academy players this summer have included sizeable clauses and one will be included when Maxi Oyedele finalises his move to Legia Warsaw.
There was what was described as a 'sizeable' sell-on clause included when Willy Kambwala left to join Villarreal and around a 50% clause included in the deal that took Mason Greenwood to Marseille. United also included a sell-on when Alvaro Fernandez joined Benfica while most agreements also include buy-back clauses.
This is now the common structure when academy graduates are sold and United have made up ground in this department. They have certainly