Man Utd agree special clause in deal to allow unwanted player to leave club

Manchester United agreed to a special clause as part of the deal to allow goalkeeper Altay Bayindir to leave the club.

Turkey international goalkeeper Bayindir will spend the 2026/27 campaign at Celta Vigo after signing on a season-long loan earlier this month.

He was deemed surplus to requirements by Michael Carrick after the arrival of veteran goalkeeper Karl Darlow on a free transfer.

Bayindir will almost certainly have played his last game for United. The agreement with Celta includes an option to buy fee set at £3.5 million and he has entered the final year of his contract at United, even though it can be extended by a further 12 months if necessary.

The 28-year-old started last season as United's number one goalkeeper under Ruben Amorim, having replaced Andre Onana.

But it was always expected that a new goalkeeper would be signed, and Bayindir lost his place in the team to Senne Lammens after a 3-1 defeat away at Sunderland in September and couldn't win it back.

With Lammens, Darlow and Tom Heaton forming United's senior goalkeeping department, the Turkey international was allowed to move on to Spain.

Bayindir was presented as a Celta Vigo player earlier this week, and their director of football Marco Garces revealed the presence of a special clause that United inserted as part of the agreement.

Rare Man Utd clause agreement explained

As per Spanish outlet Faro de Vigo (via Sport Witness), Garces explained that the loan fee that Celta will have to pay to United is directly tied to Bayindir's playing time.

In fact, the cost of the loan to the Spanish club actually becomes cheaper the more that Bayindir plays for the club.

"If there is a loan payment, it is reduced according to everything he plays," Garces is quoted as stating. "We have a purchase option and, on top of that, United cover part of his wages."

The presence of the clause would suggest that, in an ideal world, United do not want to activate the 12-month extension clause to keep Bayindir at the club for an extra season and would prefer his move to Celta to work out for all parties.

Bayindir has made 17 appearances in all competitions during his three seasons at United (Image: Getty)

He may face a difficult route to the number one spot, as current incumbent Ionut Radu kept 10 clean sheets across 38 La Liga appearances last season.

But Celta finished in sixth place in La Liga to qualify for the Europa League, meaning there may be a degree of rotation between the two goalkeepers as the Spanish club prepare to play extra matches.

That will also be the case for United, who missed out on European football entirely last season but qualified for the Champions League last term under interim turned permanent head coach Carrick.

The deal for Bayindir will at least allow United to get part of his wage off the books as they look to increase their squad depth in other areas ahead of the European campaign.

Midfielders Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans have signed from Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively, while Marcus Rashford is back at the club after his loan spell at Barcelona.

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But Carrick has stated he wants more business to be done, with a new left-back believed to be one of the main areas of priority.

"We want more, we need more," Carrick told reporters on Thursday. "We keep looking forward to how we can do that. So that never stops. We're conscious of that, and we've got to keep pushing."