Manchester United sell Alexander Buttner to Dynamo Moscow for £5.6m

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jun/28/alexander-buttner-manchester-united-dynamo-moscow

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Manchester United have sold the left-back Alexander Buttner to Dynamo Moscow for a fee that could rise to £5.6m.

Buttner made only 15 appearances for United last season, and the £27m signing of Luke Shaw meant the 25-year-old Dutchman was surplus to requirements.

It is understood Dynamo have paid £4.4m but the fee could climb depending on appearances.

United paid just under £4m for Buttner when they signed him from Vitesse Arnhem in August 2012. The defender scored on his United debut against Wigan and also found the net in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final game in charge, but he was never able to dislodge Patrice Evra as the first-choice left-back.

When Shaw arrived only a few weeks after Evra renewed his contract, it always looked likely that Buttner would leave.

Buttner becomes the third defender to leave United this summer after Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. Louis van Gaal has brought in Shaw and the Spain midfielder Ander Herrera from Athletic Bilbao.

A statement on United’s website read: “Manchester United has finalised the sale of Alex Buttner to Dynamo Moscow for an undisclosed fee. Everybody at Old Trafford would like to thank Alex for his service and wish him well for his new career in Russia.”