Revealed: How Man Utd missed out on Eden Hazard to Chelsea after agent demanded secret multimillion-pound payment

The report by The Times, has made several allegations about the conduct of John Bico during Hazard's move from Lille to Chelsea in the summer of 2012. The Belgian would eventually join the Blues for £32m in June, but was rumoured to be close to signing for United. According to The Times reporting, that move broke down after a fee and personal terms had been excepted, because United refused to pay Bico directly to facilitate the deal.

This misconduct has come to light after Bico was investigated for unconnected charges of financial crime in Belgium. The Premier League is currently investigating a 2013 payment of £6m made by an offshore company belonging to Roman Abramovich to Bico. There is no indication that Hazard was aware of his agent's actions.

The report explains: "United were within a whisker of signing the Belgium international in 2012 and had agreed a transfer fee with his club Lille and personal terms for the player, only for the move to break down after his then agent, John Bico, demanded a huge backhander.

"Bico, who is now facing unconnected charges of financial crime in Belgium after being extradited from the United Arab Emirates late last year, suggested to club officials that they pay him £1m via the club and several million more direct from the owners.

"That arrangement would have bypassed the club accounts as well as any Financial Fair Play calculations. Bico was told that United could never agree to such a deal, which would have been a clear breach of Premier League and Uefa rules.

"There is no suggestion that Hazard, who instead joined Chelsea that summer, was aware of the demand by his agent or has been involved in any wrongdoing.

"A Premier League investigation is continuing into allegations that in 2013 an offshore company belonging to Roman Abramovich, Chelsea’s owner at the time, made a €7million (£6million) payment to Bico via a Dubai company."

The breakdown of the deal led United to turn their attention to Borussia Dortmund's Shinji Kagawa, spending a reported £12m on the player. While the Japanese international was part of the Red Devil's Premier League winning season in 2012/13, his stint at Old Trafford failed to live up to expectations. Kagawa returned to Dortmund for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2014.