Manchester United pulled away from
the deal on Tuesday night with the 28-year-old Spain international keen on a
move to London.
United manager Louis van Gaal and
executive vice chairman Ed Woodward held more talks about the move on Monday
but decided not to push through their initial interest
Pedro was understood to be unimpressed by United's
pursuit after failing to be convinced that they really wanted him to join.
Manchester City and Chelsea have
both been in contact with Barcelona for a number of weeks, however, the Premier
League champions moved quickly after a weekend in which Jose Mourinho made it
clear he needed improvements to his squad.
The Blues will pay £19million up
front to the Catalan giants, an improvement on the £17m offered by
United.
The World Cup winner, who will team
up with friend Cesc Fabregas at Stamford Bridge, is expected to have a medical
on Wednesday afternoon with Chelsea's Spanish doctor Paco Biosca overseeing
events.
Sportsmail understands Mourinho personally spoke to Pedro
to convince the winger of his worth to his new suitors in order to seal the
deal.
Pedro's camp were unaware of United chief Woodward's trip
to Barcelona to try to get the deal over the line in what became a breakdown in
United's attempt for his signature.
A United source said that the club had decided to end
their interest in Pedro and that the decision was made by Van Gaal.
They added: 'Money was never an issue given the buyout
clause. If it was clear cut the deal would have been done weeks ago.
TROPHY HUNTERS
When Pedro comes to the Premier League he will have the
second most trophies won — for club and country — of current players.
1 Bastian Schweinsteiger 18
2= Pedro 15
2= Victor Valdes 15
4= John Terry 14
4= Wes Brown 14
6 Petr Cech 13
7= Yaya Toure 12
7= Martin Demichelis 12
9= John Mikel Obi 11
9= Xherdan Shaqiri 11
9= Ibrahim Afellay 11
Pedro's arrival will likely trigger the departure of Juan
Cuadrado with Juventus waiting in the wings to sign the Colombian. His pace and
work-ethic will also add greater protection to a defence that has come under
scrutiny in the opening Premier League games.
United were in pole position to sign the World Cup
winner after Woodward flew to Barcelona for further talks on Monday.
But Chelsea went toe-to-toe with their Barclays Premier
League rivals, with Roman Abramovich particularly keen on signing the
player.
Chelsea needs to boost their own attacking options before
the close of the summer transfer window following a miserable start to the new
season.
Mourinho's side were handed a 3-0 drubbing by Manchester
City on Sunday after a chastening draw at home against Swansea in their opening
game.
Chelsea first had an interest in
Pedro earlier in the summer but Mourinho wasn’t sure.
United’s neighbours City were also
interested in a deal for Pedro but have made Wolfsburg midfielder Kevin De
Bruyne their top target.
Pedro had appeared to be ready to
join United for some time and expressed his intentions to quit Barcelona after
a trophy-laden 10-year career at the Nou Camp.
But United's prevarication over the
fee - Pedro has a £22m buy-out clause in his contract - opened the door for one
of their main rivals.
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