Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim should now have a clear-cut stance on a Club World Cup player who had been linked with a move to Old Trafford.
The reformatted FIFA Club World Cup tournament has been in full swing this summer and 32 teams were included in the expanded format of the competition.
The FIFA club-based tournament is being held in the United States and the Club World Cup officially began in June and the competition is set to conclude in July.
The FIFA Club World Cup’s placement in the summer also led to a shift in the window, which had been divided into two parts to accommodate the tournament.
The summer transfer window opened on 1st June before it closed on 10th June ahead of the start of the Club World Cup on 14th June in the States.
The transfer window later reopened on 16th June and will now run through until 1st September for deadline day amid the 2025-26 Premier League season.
Ruben Amorim might not be at the Club World Cup, but it hasn’t stopped one player who was at the tournament from being linked with Manchester United this summer.
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Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim during his time as the head coach of Sporting CP in Portugal in 2024.
Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images
Botafogo star John Victor Maciel Furtado and the Man Utd saga amid his performances at the Club World Cup
John Victor Maciel Furtado had been away with Brazilian side Botafogo at the Club World Cup when rumblings began around Manchester United being linked with him.
The 29-year-old shot-stopper played in all four of Botafogo’s matches at the FIFA tournament, with the Brazilian Serie A side finishing in second in Group B.
Paris Saint-Germain emerged top of Group B ahead of Botafogo, but the Brazilian outfit still punched their ticket to the round of 16 in the Club World Cup.
Botafogo faced fellow Brazilian Serie A side Palmeiras on Saturday in the last 16 of the tournament and the club fell to a 1-0 defeat at the Lincoln Financial Field.
Paulinho broke the deadlock and found the winner for Palmeiras in extra time, with the Brazilian side reduced to 10 men in the second half of additional time.
John Victor Maciel Furtado will be heading home with Botafogo after the loss in Philadelphia, but his role at the competition led to him being under the spotlight.
United became linked with John and the Botafogo star almost appeared to be on ‘audition’ at the Club World Cup in recent weeks after the rumblings.
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Ruben Amorim should know Man Utd position clear on John Victor Maciel Furtado after Botafogo’s Club World Cup exit
John Victor Maciel Furtado has been at Botafogo since the Brazilian Serie A outfit signed him from Santos in 2024 and he has made 79 appearances for the club.
The Botafogo star had been tipped to leave his club back in January, but it is believed that John remained to play for his side in the Club World Cup this summer.
John’s camp responded to the United links last week and dismissed that any contact had been made with the Red Devils over a potential transfer for the player.
The Botafogo shot-stopper is under contract with the Brazilian side until 2028, but he has a £5.8m release clause that has made a potential transfer appealing.
Ruben Amorim does face big question marks over bringing in a new shot-stopper, but it’s clear that John won’t be a real test for Andre Onana for the No 1 spot.