If Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes were to leave the club this summer, and make a big money move to Al-Hilal, it could be a win-win-win situation. United manager Ruben Amorim maintains that Fernandes wants to stay, but the offer might just be too good to refuse.
Differing figures have been quoted, in various outlets, but according to Sky Sports, Al Hilal are said to be willing to pay United £100m for his services.
The Saudi Arabian Pro League club are said to be willing to triple, or near-triple, Bruno’s salary as well. According to The Athletic/New York Times, the salary offer is “four years on €25million a year net.”
And this is something that the United talisman and his reps are taking very seriously too, with the NYT reporting that the Portugese midfielder’s agent “has has flown to the Middle East for negotiations.” While yes, losing your most brand name player would be a considerable loss, to say the least, now might be the right time to strike a deal.
At age 31, Fernandes’ transfer market value will only decline in the years ahead. It’s in his best interests to get that last big contract in, right now.
For Al-Hilal, they get a new major box office attraction. Bruno is a bigger name than Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic or anyone else currently on their roster.
Plus Fernandes would link up with this countrymen Joao Neves and Ruben Neves, giving Al-Hilal and obvious built-in marketing angle.
And for MUFC, it’s the most obvious benefit of all- they get a massive windfall to put towards funding their roster rebuild. United have some well-documented financial issues, here and there, and can certainly use some cash. They also have massive holes to fill in every position group on the pitch.
£100m would go a long way towards helping to try and fix a lot of those problems.
Again, Amorim said after the friendly in Hong Kong that he believes Bruno Fernandes wants to stay, but this kind of situation, it could turn out to be a big benefit for all involved.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter