Bruno Fernandes: Million-Dollar Sale or Future at Man United? The Dilemma

Manchester United finds itself at a crucial crossroads with its star, Bruno Fernandes. The situation presents two paths: accept a tempting offer of 100 million pounds sterling or bet on the future led by the talented player. However, neither path guarantees the club’s return to glory.

In the coming days, United’s management will have to make a major decision: reject any offer for the 30-year-old player or seize the economic opportunity to rebuild the team under the direction of Ruben Amorim.

United could follow Liverpool’s example, which transformed its destiny by investing the £145 million obtained from the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in 2018, signing Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.

However, the situation is not always so straightforward, as Tottenham Hotspur discovered in 2013 after receiving £85 million for Gareth Bale’s move to Real Madrid.

With Bale’s money, seven players were signed, but only one, Christian Eriksen, was successful. Etienne Capoue, Nacer Chadli, Vlad Chiriches, Erik Lamela, Paulinho, and Roberto Soldado were the other six signings, and they all passed without leaving a mark. At least, Tottenham made their signing mistakes when they were in the top positions in the table, and managed to stay there in the following seasons.

Considering United’s transfer history in recent years, where it could be argued that they haven’t had a truly successful signing since Fernandes’ arrival from Sporting CP for £47 million in January 2020, trusting the club to wisely reinvest any income from Fernandes could be an act of faith. But, after suffering their worst season in the Premier League, and the team’s lowest finish in the top flight (15th) since their relegation in 1974, United find themselves in a position of weakness, and it’s a situation that Al Hilal of the Saudi Pro League is determined to exploit.

Sources indicate that the Riyadh club is willing to pay 100 million pounds to sign Fernandes before the Club World Cup, which begins in two weeks. Fernandes is United’s best player and the only one who comes close to being considered world-class. Even during his nightmare season, he scored 19 goals and registered 18 assists, and almost single-handedly carried the team to the Europa League final, where they lost to Tottenham and missed out on Champions League qualification.

The Portuguese midfielder signed a new contract with United in August, securing his future until 2027, so United could reject any offer and insist that he is not available for transfer. But missing the Champions League has left a big hole in United’s finances, of at least £80 million and perhaps more than £100 million, so they have been cornered.

Amorim said last week that United would prefer to raise funds by getting rid of other players, specifically Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Antony, but even if they could find clubs to take on all three, Sancho is expected to make his loan move to Chelsea permanent for £25 million this month, the total sum of any transfer is unlikely to match what Al Hilal offers.

If Fernandes decides he wants to leave, the reality of United’s financial situation means they would have no choice but to make a deal with Al Hilal, but it would depend on United turning that into an opportunity. The worst-case scenario for United is to repeat what happened to Tottenham without Bale, but what if they could copy Liverpool’s model?

Jurgen Klopp had been at Liverpool for just over a year and was struggling to revitalize the team, while Coutinho, like Fernandes at United, was their best and most creative player. It was a blow to Liverpool’s prospects and prestige when the Brazilian international moved to Camp Nou, but Klopp’s team never looked back from that moment. Van Dijk arrived from Southampton for £75 million and Alisson became the world’s most expensive goalkeeper when he signed from Roma for £67 million.

The Coutinho deal proved that no player is irreplaceable. Liverpool lost a big name, but replaced him with two players who would become Anfield legends.

United are clearly a better team with Fernandes, but last season proved they are still not very good. Perhaps the best option for United would be to take the money for Fernandes and use it to sign the players that Amorim desperately needs. A goalkeeper, a right-back, a central midfielder, and an attacking midfielder are desperately needed if this Manchester United team wants to stop being a mediocre team.

They just have to take Coutinho’s path and make sure to avoid Bale’s.