Goldbridge Backs Ruthless £100m Bruno Exit to Save Manchester United | OneFootball

Goldbridge Says Amorim Should Have Sold Bruno for Rebuild Funds

Manchester United and the Missed Opportunity on Bruno Fernandes

In a typically forthright episode of The United Stand, Mark Goldbridge addressed one of Manchester United’s most divisive topics this summer: the club’s refusal to sell Bruno Fernandes for £100 million to Al Hilal. “I think we should,” said Goldbridge bluntly, before dissecting the implications of rejecting what he described as “a massively overinflated price of pure cash profits.”

For a club that, as Goldbridge so evocatively put it, is “on its ass,” this was not merely a player decision but a fundamental call on how Manchester United intends to rebuild. “We’ve hit rock bottom,” he said, adding: “For a club that’s got no money and needs a major rebuild… this was a big call.”

Fernandes’ Value vs. United’s Reality

Goldbridge was quick to acknowledge Fernandes’ contribution: “Bruno Fernandes is our best player. Fact. Without Bruno last year, we might have got relegated. Fact.” Yet, that did not sway his core argument. “It’s Manchester United. It’s not Bruno United,” he said, underscoring that no player should be bigger than the club’s strategy.

“If I could say to Bruno, I’d say, look, you are our best player. You are our captain. You’ve had some unfair criticism over the years. But we sold David Beckham to Real Madrid. We sold Jaap Stam. We’ve done this sort of ruthless stuff in the past,” Goldbridge added, making it clear that emotional attachment cannot override structural necessity.

Amorim’s Role and the Financial Trade-Off

Manager Ruben Amorim ultimately chose to keep Fernandes. Goldbridge conceded that position but warned of missed chances. “With that 100 million pounds, I can get a goalkeeper, I can get a striker, and I can get someone like Richard Rios to play as a number eight.”

He acknowledged the emotional difficulty of the decision: “You are literally the sacrificial lamb. If you weren’t so good, we wouldn’t get this money, but we need it.” In this, Goldbridge portrayed Fernandes not as expendable, but as valuable in a different way, through the potential he could unlock via reinvestment.

He continued: “This wasn’t staged instalments. This was £100 million coming straight into the football club… for a player who is also 31.”

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Emotional Divides Among Fans

Goldbridge’s argument was not aimed at discrediting fans who adore the Portuguese international. “He’s our captain. He has my full support. He has your full support,” he said. But he was clear that alternative opinions should not be vilified. “You can’t have a go at people for going, ‘I’d have took the money.’ That to me is stupid and very very unfair.”

He also noted that Fernandes himself needed time to reflect. “It was two and a half weeks of making his mind up. So even he thought it through.” That deliberation only reinforces Goldbridge’s point: this was not a binary choice, but a moment of club-defining introspection.

United’s Future in Amorim’s Hands

While Goldbridge fundamentally disagreed with Amorim’s final call, “Amorim made the choice, and he made the choice”, he stopped short of laying blame. “If you’re having a rebuild, you need people like that, which is Amorim’s point. I understand that. I respect that. I just wouldn’t have done that.”

In essence, this was not Bruno Fernandes vs. the fans. It was a stark examination of Manchester United’s present and future. “Should we rebuild with £100 million or should we rebuild with a guy that’s 31?” asked Goldbridge, leaving the question hanging in the air for supporters and critics alike.