Rasmus Hojlund issues Man Utd message as dream ends after official confirmation
Rasmus Hojlund has announced his £38million transfer from Manchester United to Napoli in a heartfelt message posted on social media. United inserted a conditional obligation for Napoli to sign the Denmark international permanently as part of the deal that took him to Italy last summer.
The agreement stipulated that last season's Serie A champions must complete a permanent signing of Hojlund should they secure Champions League qualification. That milestone was reached on Sunday afternoon after goals from former United midfielder Scott McTominay, Amir Rrahmani and Hojlund himself sealed a commanding 3-0 victory at Pisa.
A place in Europe's premier club competition had appeared all but guaranteed following their triumph over Milan in early April, which extended their winning run to five consecutive matches. However, Napoli managed just one victory from their subsequent five outings - a difficult spell that included home defeats to both Bologna and Lazio.
Despite their wobble, a Napoli win this weekend proved sufficient to clinch Champions League football, with the club holding a superior head-to-head record over third-placed Roma. Hojlund has now broken his silence on the permanent move to Naples being officially confirmed, sharing an emotional Instagram post in which he described playing for United as a 'childhood dream'.
He said: "This goal felt symbolic because it means two things. We [have] now secured Champions League with Napoli, which means because of my contract I'm now officially a Napoli player and I'm saying goodbye to Manchester United.
"That feels weird, because for the past year I already feel like a Napoli player. The way you fans supported me, made me feel like home and let me find my confidence again is something I'm so grateful for.
"To say goodbye to Manchester United is something that kinda feels emotional too. My childhood dream came true by playing at Old Trafford in a red jersey.
The 23-year-old has enjoyed an encouraging campaign in Italy, netting 15 goals across all competitions - though Sunday's strike against Pisa was his first since March.
Napoli boss Antonio Conte has also recently leapt to Hojlund's defence amid criticism surrounding his goal drought.
The former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager said: "Let's not forget that he's the only striker we have in the squad, and he's the only one playing; he should have had the chance to rest and come on during the match.
"He has a lot of energy and is a player with excellent qualities. He's 23 years old and has significant room for improvement; you can't say anything [bad] about him; he plays for the team."
