Manchester United have confirmed that Marouane Fellaini has left the club for Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng.

Fellaini’s future has been up in the air ever since the departure of former United boss Jose Mourinho. The Belgian was one of the Portuguese manager’s most trusted players during his time at the club and they enjoyed a brilliant relationship with each other.

In fact, Fellaini was due to leave United last summer but Mourinho was determined to hold on to him. Spotting an opportunity, the player held the club to ransom and made demands over a new contract. Considering how important he was to Mourinho, his demands were agreed to and he signed on an extra year.

Since United sacked Mourinho in December however, Fellaini seemed eager to join him out the door. The midfielder was believed to have been ‘hurt’ by his former boss’s sacking, according to some reports. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s arrival also saw is role significantly reduce and he made only one substitute appearance under the new manager.

As a result, with a future at Old Trafford looking bleak, he decided to call it quits when Shandong Luneng came calling. Negotiations were swift and the move has now been completed.

United confirmed the move in a statement on their official website that read: “Manchester United can confirm that Marouane Fellaini has left the club on a permanent transfer.