Manchester United are expected to make a profit on a deal for a player who never played for the club.
Ineos will be pleased when they look at Manchester United’s profit at the end of the upcoming transfer window and see one deal that makes them quite pleased.
Real Madrid are set to agree a fee with Benfica for Alvaro Fernandez for £42 million. Due to a very smart sell-on clause, United are set to earn between £17 million and £20 million.
That’s a very useful amount to earn from a player who did not play a first team game for the Red Devils, yet this itself is quite a big mistake.
Photo by Miguel Lemos/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Photo by Miguel Lemos/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Alvaro Fernandez remains a missed opportunity
£17-20 million will be useful on United’s profit books. But it will not help Manchester United much when Alvaro is starring for Real Madrid.
This past season, while United were competing in the Europa League, Alvaro Fernandez was impressing in the Champions League as a key starter for Benfica.
And now with United out of Europe entirely, Alvaro could be playing a starring role for Real Madrid, and driving his transfer value even higher.
Had United kept Alvaro Fernandez, the club could have been cashing in for the full £42 million.
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Erik ten Hag’s decision to ostracise Fernandez in 2023 remains one of his most bemusing decisions, and that says a lot about a man who once started Noussair Mazraoui as a number 10.
Fernandez was the winner of United’s young player of the year award, before winning an award for Preston out on loan too.
Ten Hag took a look at him in pre-season 2023 and decided at the deadline to send him out on loan to Granada. Benfica snapped him up midway through the season and converted the deal to a permanent one.
United made the decision to loan Fernandez after an injury to Luke Shaw on top of an injury to Tyrell Malacia, that left United without a left-back.
Erik ten Hag chose to sign Sergio Reguilon on loan, instead of giving Fernandez a chance.
Reguilon was not kept in the second half of the season, and in summer 2025 he has just been judged surplus to requirements at Spurs and released. Fernandez meanwhile is heading to Real Madrid.
This seemed like a short-term botch at the time, with the lack of options at left-back critically hurting Ten Hag’s side in 2023-24, with an answer staring them right in the face.
United won’t get Fernandez opportunity again
The way Manchester United signed Alvaro Fernandez is no longer possible.
Fernandez was snapped up from Real Madrid’s academy in 2020 as part of a recruitment drive of talented players from across Europe. It was the last time it was possible.
Brexit rules mean United cannot sign non-UK players until they are 18-years-old. Fernandez signed in the final window before these rules came into effect.
As so often with youth player recruitment, there are more misses than hits. Fernandez looked like a sure-fire hit from the moment he made his under-18s debut, and tore through the academy with series of impressive performances.
Clever clauses inserted into his sale mean his continued progress is not a total loss for Manchester United.
But if his development had been handled correctly, he would still be a Manchester United starter.