The season is over for Manchester United but the actual work begins now, with Ruben Amorim making tall promises for the one up next.
That begins with the transfer window, where Man Utd have already made a mark by signing Enzo Kana-Biyik, and now Matheus Cunha is following.
The Wolves star has been given the “Here We Go” by Fabrizio Romano, with the official announcement likely once United finish their post-season tour.
While the signing was an open secret, Romano has revealed a key detail in the deal that can boost the club’s summer spending.
Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images
Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images
Key detail in Matheus Cunha transfer
A big reason why United are able to sign Matheus Cunha so quickly is because he had a set release clause, so it takes away the most excruciating part of negotiations.
United knew they could pay £62.5 million and the player would be theirs, as Cunha was already enamoured by the prospect of joining Old Trafford.
However, that is still quite a huge fee, especially in the context of United not qualifying for any European competition next season.
Therefore, when Romano revealed that United had managed to negotiate a payment structure with Wolves, it could boost summer spending.
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Man Utd fans will remember Ed Woodward gifting Leicester City £80 million in one go immediately for Harry Maguire, a deal that brutalised the club’s cash reserves.
Ineos are determined not to repeat that mistake, negotiating with Wolves an installment structure to pay the clause.
🚨🇧🇷 Matheus Cunha to Manchester United, here we go! Verbal agreement in place between all parties involved.
Cunha will sign deal until June 2030 with option until 2031. Wolves to receive £62.5m clause value in installments.
Formal steps/contracts to be checked next week. pic.twitter.com/RiP4iMoH6m
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 25, 2025
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Man Utd are fixing their transfer business
The Cunha deal continues a trend of smart transfers by a club that had lost its reputation for doing the same, almost always getting the worse end of deals.
United did something similar with Joshua Zirkzee’s transfer last season, where they agreed to pay slightly above the release clause in exchange for an instalment structure.
That is an extremely smart way of operating in the market, especially in the FFP era where amortisation is king, so paying in installments makes a big difference.
For example, if United have agreed to pay Wolves the release clause over Cunha’s contract length, their annual hit to the budget is only about £10 million, while they can sell a player like Garnacho for £60 million to supercharge their spending.
United are finally fixing their mess, and it took someone else entirely to come in for that to happen.