Football has always been susceptible to some form of nepotism, as managers often favour some players so much that they bring them to every club they start coaching. Jose Mourinho is, for instance, a perfect example of this phenomenon, as the Portuguese often took certain players with him to new clubs, such as Ricardo Carvalho (Porto, Chelsea, Real Madrid) or Nemanja Matic (Chelsea, Man United, AS Roma).However, rare does it happen that a manager keeps selling a player every time he encounters him at a new club.##EDITORS_CHOICE##In 2018, the 18-year-old Czech goalkeeper Matej Kovar joined Man United’s youth categories from his homeland’s side, Slovacko. Two years later, the custodian was moved to the senior squad, though he never made an appearance for the Red Devils’ first team, mainly playing for their U-18, U-19, and U-21 crews.He spent the rest of his time at Old Trafford on loans at Swindon Town, Burton Albion, and Sparta Prague. In the meantime, Erik ten Hag became United’s manager and following the end of Kovar’s last loan, the Dutchman and the club’s management decided to get rid of the keeper, selling him to Bayer Leverkusen for €5 million.##NAJAVA_MECA_9011296##Even though he was mainly Lever captain Lukas Hradecky’s understudy, Kovar still got some playing time in the German Cup and UEFA Europa League, making 32 appearances with the Bundesliga side across two seasons.And then Ten Hag arrived…The 55-year-old tactician sat on Bayer’s bench in May, and after just a month and a half, Kovar is at the BayArena’s exit doors!From Manchester to Leverkusen and now to Eindhoven? 👀With a PSV move now close, Erik ten Hag looks set to sell Matej Kovář twice in just two years. 🧤🔁 pic.twitter.com/G8fRdtVfC7— SPORF (@Sporf) July 8, 2025 Namely, even though he was the one who sent the goalie to Lever, he has now opted to sell him again, as the Czech is on the verge of moving to the Dutch PSV Eindhoven.In the end, it’s hard to say whether strategist has something personal against Kovar – although it seems so – but we can tell what the keeper’s biggest nightmare will be: his “archenemy” Ten Hag on PSV’s bench.
