
EPL Index
·24 Mei 2025
Manchester United Star ponders £200m Saudi move with United future in doubt

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·24 Mei 2025
Bruno Fernandes has been handed a brutal ultimatum — decide his Manchester United future by next week, or watch a £200 million escape route to Al-Hilal vanish. The Saudi giants are prepared to bid £100 million to tempt United, and dangle a staggering three-year contract worth up to £65 million per season at Fernandes, including bonuses and a signing-on fee, highlighted by a report by The Daily Mail.
This isn’t just a story about Saudi riches or another ageing star tempted by oil wealth. This is about United’s unravelled state. Financially wounded by missing out on the Champions League, United are now entertaining offers for their best player. Fernandes summed up the mood perfectly after the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham, saying: “If the club thinks it’s time to part ways because they want to do some cashing in, it is what it is.”
That sounds like a man prepared for the end — not pushing for it, but ready.
Photo: IMAGO
Missing out on Champions League football has hammered United’s finances. The Europa League final defeat cost the club around £100 million in lost revenue. To make matters worse, there’s a looming £10 million penalty owed to sponsors Adidas, and the prospect of finishing 16th or 17th means millions more lost in Premier League merit payments.
Club insiders maintain they don’t want to lose Fernandes. Yet everything about this situation suggests he is being gently ushered towards the exit. The numbers, from his £700,000-a-week basic salary in Saudi to the 25 per cent wage cut he’ll suffer by staying in a non-European United, all tip the balance.
Even national team concerns are unlikely to deter him. Cristiano Ronaldo paved the way in 2022, joining Al-Nassr and retaining his Portugal place. Fernandes could follow the same blueprint.
Ruben Amorim’s tenure is still embryonic, but the noise around exits is deafening. Almost every player is up for sale. Alejandro Garnacho may seek talks after being benched for the final. United rejected a Napoli bid in January, but a summer offer between £60–70 million might change minds.
Marcus Rashford’s £40 million valuation feels like a fire sale price. Jadon Sancho could return if Chelsea pay a £5 million penalty. Rasmus Hojlund, once hailed as the next elite striker, is on the block for less than half the £72 million he cost. Even Antony, signed for £86 million, might be let go for as little as £25 million, with Real Betis keen to keep him.
United owe £17 million more to Dortmund for Sancho and are likely to explore the Italian market. Casemiro, on £375,000 a week, will reportedly stay because nobody will buy him. The rebuild isn’t planned, it’s reactive.
Al-Hilal are expected to table their final offer in the coming days. Fernandes will have just 72 hours to decide. They want a marquee star ahead of next month’s Club World Cup and are not prepared to wait. The deadline feels as much about optics as business.
Despite everything, Fernandes is reportedly happy at Old Trafford. But how long can personal loyalty fight brutal economic logic and fading sporting ambition? Europe is gone, hope is fading, and leadership is being priced up by the hour.
This situation is not just about Bruno Fernandes. It’s a cold, clear signal of what Manchester United have become. The club is no longer holding on to greatness. It’s haggling with it.
It’s hard to stomach what’s happening. Bruno has been the only consistent leader since the post-Ferguson chaos. He’s never hidden, always spoken up, and even when the team has floundered, he’s been the one pulling strings. Watching him now basically accept that he might be sold, just to balance the books, shows how deep the rot runs.
This club once chased glory, not gate receipts. Losing a Europa League final was bad enough. But knowing it cost us £100 million and might force out our captain is gutting. And now we’re talking about Rashford, Garnacho, Sancho and Hojlund all potentially going? That’s the spine of any rebuild.
You look around the squad and realise that it’s not just about missing Europe — it’s about no longer being a club that top players believe in. Amorim is a big name, but he’s walked into a storm. How can he build anything if everyone is for sale?
And let’s not even start on Casemiro sitting on massive wages with no takers. We’re stuck with past mistakes and sacrificing future hope.
If Bruno goes, it’s not just a player we lose. It’s the last bit of fight this team has shown in years.