Cristiano Ronaldo was met by Erling Haaland on his visit to the Al Nassr camp today.

Hannibal Mejbri discusses his January transfer from Manchester United to Sevilla

After reflecting on his experience at Manchester United, Hannibal Mejbri has explained his decision to leave the club last season.

Toby Collyer has gotten more attention than any other United midfielder throughout the current preseason, and many are hoping that he has a breakout season.

Once Kobbie Mainoo was out for the first four months of the new campaign, many expected that Mejbri would solidify his spot in Erik ten Hag’s squad last season. No, that did not work out.

In 2019, the midfielder from Tunisia joined Manchester United’s development setup after moving from Monaco. His transfer fee might reach £9.3 million.

The boy, who was born in Paris, had a tough time adjusting to life in England. Moving to Manchester was challenging, Hannibal admitted to The National.

“I was by myself in this football city. My schooling had prepared me to speak English, but the English I heard in England was quite different.

But in order to improve his public speaking abilities, Mejbri enrolled in an English school. He went on loan to Birmingham City in 2022 to get some experience with professional football.

It was in Birmingham that I made progress and performed well. When you get some time in the game, you level up. “Going back to the bench is tough when you play every week,” he admitted.

With an incredible 41 appearances in the 2022–23 season, the explosive midfielder solidified his position as a key player for Birmingham. His handling of the physical nature of the Championship was particularly noteworthy.

Despite scoring a spectacular goal against Brighton and Hove Albion in September of 2023, he was unable to receive similar minutes upon his return to United. He played in five league games before deciding he needed a change to further his career.

“Last season was OK when I was at United, but I felt I could have had a little bit more game time after the Brighton game when I scored,” Mejbri remarked, reflecting on his decision. My desire for more led me to accept a loan offer from Sevilla. There, I went through a lot of different things.

The 21-year-old was loaned out to Sevilla in January to finish the season. In addition to the initial £14 million, the Spanish club has agreed to pay an additional £3 million to acquire him permanently.

But he had a rough start to his tenure in Sevilla. Just one week after signing with the club, he was benched after receiving a yellow card in his first game.

With just six La Liga outings under his belt before making his way back to United, any prospects of a permanent deal swiftly faded.

Even so, Mejbri is aiming to demonstrate his abilities in the forthcoming season after feeling “respected” by his teammates and learning a lot during his time in Spain.

I simply want to play football and prove myself. It will be the same for every player. I’ve had enough of just sitting around and watching other people play.

But the midfielder’s preseason isn’t looking good. He started once, against Rosenborg, and did not play a minute of the team’s 3-0 loss to Liverpool last weekend. The gifted midfielder is tipped for yet another exit from United, this time potentially permanent.