Alvaro Carrerasplaceholder image
Alvaro Carreras | AFP via Getty Images
A transfer between two of the giants of European football could earn Manchester United a tidy windfall.
Left-back Alvaro Carreras has been playing for Benfica in the Club World Cup this summer, and is seen as a rising star at the club. The Spaniard was in England before heading to Portugal though - he signed a four-year contract with Manchester United in 2020, when he was 17, signing from Real Madrid.
He trained with the first team the following season, but never broke through - being named on the bench twice during his time at Old Trafford - and instead was an under-23 regular, and was the named club’s Under-23 Player of the Year for the 2011/22 season.
He then saw some loan spells, at Preston North End, Granada and Benfica. He left for Benfica in January 2024 for the remainder of that season and his loan deal included an optional buy-clause of €6m , which would become obligatory were he to start half or more of Benfica's games during his time there.
In May 2024, it was announced that the buy clause had been activated and so Carreras joined the Primeira Liga side, signing a contract until 2029.
But now seems that Real Madrid have come sniffing, and are said to have tabled a €50m - £43m - bid. This gives United a good dilemma - they could enact the £15m buy-back clause which they inserted when they sold Carreras, or let him go but benefit from the canny 20% sell-on fee clause they inserted in the Benfica transfer - meaning they could pocket about €10m, £8.6m - for doing nothing.
The other option would be to buy back an asset worth £43m for £15m, with a view to selling him for even more profit. The ball is in United’s court - Ineos have a decision to make.
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