Manchester United are soon to find out if Bruno Fernandes plans to quit Old Trafford this summer after extraordinary details emerged of the talks his agent has held with Al-Hilal at a hotel in Riyadh – while the man the Red Devils will target as his replacement has also come to light.
Fernandes has proved an inspirational figure since joining the Red Devils in an initial £47m deal from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020, and is widely regarded as the club’s best signing in the post Sir Alex Ferguson era. And having contributed towards 185 goals (98 scored, 87 assists) in his 290 appearances for the club, his place in Manchester United folklore is assured.
However, after the most dismal seasons in recent memory for the club, an emotional parting of ways could be on the cards this summer with Saudi superpower Al-Hilal ramping up their quest to lure him to the Middle East and become the new face of the game over there.
While their interest in signing Fernandes has been well known for a number of weeks, the Daily Mail has now revealed a stunning new update that makes his possible exit more real than ever for United.
Per journalist Chris Wheeler, the 30-year-old’s representative, Miguel Pinho, travelled to Riyadh last week to hold face-to-face meetings with officials from the Saudi club – and it has emerged they have now offered him a take-it-or-leave-it mega-money package to quit Old Trafford this summer.
Given a matter of days to decide if he wants to make the move, Wheeler writes that talks took place at the Four Seasons hotel and are understood to have continued late into the night. Sources described the discussions as ‘positive’.
In those talks, Wheeler claims Al-Hilal are proposing to raise Fernandes’s salary from his current £280,000 a week package to nearer £700,000 tax-free as part of a package worth up to £200m over three years, including bonuses.
And while it is not yet clear how Fernandes has responded to the offer, should he accept it is claimed Al-Hilal will launch an offer to United for his services in the region of £100m.
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United, for their part, have persistently stated that their captain will not be allowed to leave this summer, with both Sir Jim Ratcliffe and manager Ruben Amorim going public to underline the player’s huge importance to their cause.
“It’s not going to happen!” Amorim stated when asked if Fernandes could leave last month.
Asked why he is so confident the 30-year-old will stick around, he added: “That is the challenge. I want Bruno here.
“We want to win the Premier League again, we want the best players with us.”
The midfielder signed a new deal at Old Trafford over the summer, extending his commitment to the club until the summer of 2027, with the option of an extra year.
Amorim added: “He’s still so young because he plays 55 games every season.
“Between assists and goals, he’s there for 30 at least. He’s the player we want here, he’s not going anywhere.
“We are in control of the situation. I feel that he’s really happy here. He understands what we want to do.
“He’s one more supporter of Manchester United; he really feels it. Sometimes the frustration that you and everybody sees, and says: ‘it’s not a good thing for the captain’ – it’s a sign that he wants it so bad.
“This is the kind of player we want. He’s not going anywhere – because I already told him.”
However, after last week’s defeat in the Europa League final, costing the club a potential £100m windfall in the Champions League, United are now under more pressure than ever to raise some much-needed transfer revenue and help with the very obvious rebuild the club needs.
And in light of last week’s loss, Fernandes himself offered to leave if the club decides it’s best to cash in on him to help with that process.
“I have always been honest. I’ve always said I will be here until the club says to me that it’s time to go,” Fernandes told the media after the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao.
“I’m eager to do more, to be able to bring the club the great days. On the day that the club thinks that I’m too much or it’s time to part ways, football is like this, you never know it. But I’ve always said it, and I keep my word in the same way.
“If the club thinks it’s time to part ways because they want to do some cashing in or whatever, it’s what it is, and football sometimes is like this.”
So often the hero, Fernandes admits he was left feeling crushed by the loss to Spurs.
“It’s very sad. We wanted to win more than anything in this final,” he said. “It’s a very sad day because we’ve done some very good things in this competition until today.
“But today was the day that mattered, the most important day of the competition. It was the day we could have been in the history of the Europa League, but it’s not like that. And football is cruel, and it’s been our turn to lose.”
Man Utd eye Bilbao star to replace Fernandes; Kobbie Mainoo exit latest
Meanwhile, United are reported to have contacted Athletic Club to inform them of their plans to meet the exit clause in the contract of Oihan Sancet this summer, after claims in the Spanish media that he is the man the Red Devils are ready to focus on should they lose their inspirational captain.
Elsewhere, United are also reportedly set to sanction the sale of Kobbie Mainoo this summer, with the midfielder falling down the pecking order under Amorim.
Per a new update, Red Devils officials are ready to sanction the young midfielder’s sale if one major condition is satisfied.
On the incomings front, the four positions United aim to make signings in AFTER Matheus Cunha have been revealed, with talks already underway to land a £50m attacker who bagged 20 goals in the Premier League this season.
Five highs and five lows of Bruno Fernandes’ time at Man Utd
By Rob McCarthy
HIGHS
➡️ Captained to the club to their 13th FA Cup final win in 2024 as United beat bitter rivals Manchester City 2-1 at Wembley with goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
➡️ Celebrated his first trophy with the club in February 2023 when the Red Devils beat Newcastle 2-0 in the EFL Cup final at Wembley.
➡️ Fernandes scored his 50th Premier League goal with a remarkable 50-yard strike in a 2–2 draw against United’s arch rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford in April 2024.
➡️ Notched a hat-trick in the opening match of the 2021/22 season as United put Leeds to the sword in a 5-1 rout at Old Trafford.
➡️ In November 2022, Fernandes became the first player to provide an assist in five consecutive matches of a Champions League campaign for an English club when he did so for Jadon Sancho in a win over Villarreal.
LOWS
➡️ The recent Europa League final loss to Tottenham has to be at the very top of the list for the United skipper as the Red Devils buckled in Bilbao and failed to secure Champions League football in the process.
➡️ The 7-0 defeat to Liverpool in March 2023 was also massive low point for the player and club, with Red Devils legend Gary Neville scathing of Fernandes afterwards, saying: “It was a shambles, epitomised by captain Bruno Fernandes, who has been embarrassing at times”.
➡️ Suffered a demoralising FA Cup final defeat at the hands of rivals City in 2023, although he did score in the loss at Wembley.
➡️ Became the first Man Utd player to be sent off in two consecutive games since Eric Cantona in 1994 when he saw red against Tottenham and then Porto in late 2024. His dismissal against Spurs did eventually get overturned though.
➡️ Posted a public apology on Instagram for missing a last-minute penalty against Aston Villa in 2021 that would have earned United a 1-1 draw.