Nemanja Matic announces he is leaving Man United as midfield crisis worsens

Nemanja Matic has confirmed he is leaving Manchester United at the end of the season.

Matic, 33, is under contract at United until the summer of 2023 but has decided to leave a year earlier.

The Serb wrote on Instagram: “After a great deal of thought, I have decided that this season will be my last with Manchester United. I have informed the board, the manager and the players of my decision.

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“It has been a huge honour and a privilege to play for this great club. A big thank you to the fans for their unwavering support.

“I will now give everything until the end of the season to help my teammates finish as strongly as possible.”

Matic’s impending departure exacerbates United’s issues in midfield, which they already intend to reinforce with the addition of a defensive-minded signing.

United are working on a deal to sign Kalvin Phillips from Leeds United but the club do not intend to advance with any targets until Erik ten Hag is officially installed as manager.

Matic is the only specialist defensive midfielder in the current United squad and fellow midfielder Paul Pogba is all but certain to leave when his contract expires on June 30.

United had not intended to sell Matic in the summer as the expectation was he would see out his contract and leave on a free next year.

However, Matic has decided to leave United less than two years on from signing a three-year renewal.

The early departure of Matic marks another contractual misjudgement by the former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, whose contract strategy backfired repeatedly.

Matic joined United for £35million rising to £40m from Chelsea in 2017 after Tottenham refused to sell Jose Mourinho’s first-choice target, Eric Dier.