Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Crescent have been linked with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes this week, and their intention to bring in the 30-year-old Portugal international has been confirmed by Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano. In order to attract B fees and let the Red Devils release him, the Saudi financiers made a surprising offer!
Last year, Fernandes extended his contract with Manchester United until 2027, with the right of first refusal for one year. Prior to his renewal, Riyadh Crescent approached him, but there was no further development. Now, the Riyadh Crescent, backed by the PIF Saudi sovereign fund, has made a comeback and has come up with more gold dollars.
Well-known transfer expert Ben Jacobs has revealed that Riyadh Crescent has offered B a generous three-year contract, with an annual salary of a staggering £65 million per season, equivalent to £1.25 million a week, which is four times his current income at Manchester United. The initial weekly salary of 680,000 euros is not a mistake, but it is just after-tax income.
Mr. B is said to have not responded to the offer, and his agent's brother-in-law, Miguel Pinho, has approached representatives from the Saudi side. However, Manchester United have made it clear that they do not want to sell their captain, with Ruben Amorim seeing him as a key figure in the rebuild, one of the few players in the squad who are 'not for sale'.
But if Fernandes agrees to join, Riyadh Crescent's offer could test Sir Jim Ratcliffe's determination to keep the captain! Riyadh Crescent's offer is said to be as high as £120 million, surpassing Chelsea's record record of £115 million for the UK's highest transfer fee set when they brought in Caicedo from Brighton in 2023.
Riyadh Crescent has an ample budget for reinforcements this summer, and they have astronomical sums of money in the bank. Previously, the team had tried to lure Liverpool's Salah to join with a total transfer fee and wages of up to £510 million, but unfortunately the Egyptian superstar ultimately chose to renew his contract to stay at Anfield. Therefore, now Riyadh Crescent can use this more than 500 million funds to bring in other star players.
Meanwhile, Manchester United's current financial constraints will require them to sell some players before the summer transfer window opens, and if they miss Champions League qualification, Rajue may be faltered in his decision to refuse to sell the captain at a high price. However, if Amorim leads his side to win the Europa League and qualify for the Champions League, the financial situation could improve dramatically and there may not be any need to consider selling B for a fee.
And with FIFA's new Club World Cup set to start on June 15, Riyadh Crescent is hoping to sign a superstar player before that to make a big splash. If Fernandes and Manchester United reject the team, then they could join the transfer race for 26-year-old Nigerian centre-forward Osimhen.
Osimhen, who has scored 33 goals and provided eight assists in 37 games this season, is destined to leave Napoli and Galatasaray, who is currently on loan, want to keep him and are willing to pay a 65 million euros (£56 million) transfer fee to try to buy him.
This does not meet the €75 million buy-out clause of Osimhen's contract with Napoli for a team outside Serie A, and it is unclear whether Galatasaray will be able to afford the player's £400,000-a-week salary. But these two amounts are not a problem for Saudi oil financiers, and Riyadh Crescent can easily meet its conditions as long as Osimhen agrees to join.