Bruno Fernandes Out?

Would not be a good look to finish 14-17th and then sell your best player. The one signing that matchday ranters aside, we'd all agree is the only 100% long term successful signing we've made in 12-13 years.

But if it gets to silly money, north of 125m, you really do start to have to think about it a bit.

But then you remember how we bang 50m on Mount and Onana, 80s on the Antony, Hojlund, Maguire types and worry how we'd use that money!
 
Think I agree with some others. It could be an atrocious decision, where losing Bruno could mean we are in an actual relegation battle. He’s been the only positive here for quite some time.

However, if we are looking to get someone like Cunha, it would make sense to cash in on Bruno (£60m+ is a lot) and reinvest.

I’d rather keep him, but if we do sell it has to be for someone else we can base the team around.

My only concern is those sort of situations where we need someone to turn to. There’s no doubt with Bruno over penalties, making the right decision, playing that crucial final ball. That will be hard to replace
 
Despite having somehow ended-up with this tagline, I like Bruno.... but if a really good offer comes in, it's a no-brainer for me.

A sale would represent pure profit, I believe, since his fee is long since paid? Also, we can learn from how other clubs have diddled us down the years...selling a player who hits 30/31 before their form plummets.

I actually think Bruno will have a good career, he's never been quick and his fitness / injury-record is great...but at some point, that will change!
 
devilish said:
I knew a guy who was a top sales rep. He had the confidence and the looks of Tom Ellis and the mentality of a stereotypical stockbroker in the 80s (wolf of wall street style). The guy insisted on a 1 year contract deal which needed to be renewed every year. He would wait till the last week only to come in the office with three documents. A- His sales ratio which vastly exceeded that of his colleagues, his list of demands (salary increase, commission increase and other perks including less paper work + less supervision) and his non renewal letter. His former boss would sign it up which in turn would lead to HR having to work around the clock to have everything done and dusted before his contract expired. The situation got so silly that the guy was paid more then his boss or half of the team combined.

One fine day a new director was appointed following a serious concern about employee turnover. The same story happened as per script but this time round this new guy picked the non renewal letter instead. This sales rep was shocked and it even got emotional at one point. However the guy has had enough of the antics and he wanted him out. He figured out that this arrangement made it impossible for the company to hire seasoned sales people and the few rookies left were being burdened with the paperwork the sales rep refused to do.

Bruno is an amazing player and he deserves all the credit he can get. However this is the third consecutive summer were he was being linked heavily with Saudi. Last year he didn't have the best of seasons yet these antics gained him a salary increase at a time when INEOS were focusing on salary cuts. This year new talks of Saudi had re-emerged, on the clock. Which really makes me wonder how long will INEOS tolerate such behavour.
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Imagine calling him not having the best of seasons last year “antics”.

Chatting absolute shite as usual.
 
Lentwood said:
Despite having somehow ended-up with this tagline, I like Bruno.... but if a really good offer comes in, it's a no-brainer for me.

A sale would represent pure profit, I believe, since his fee is long since paid? Also, we can learn from how other clubs have diddled us down the years...selling a player who hits 30/31 before their form plummets.

I actually think Bruno will have a good career, he's never been quick and his fitness / injury-record is great...but at some point, that will change!
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I'm not convinced the club is in a position to follow this logic sadly. We aren't challenging for the title or even a top 5 contender, far from it. We are a few more losses away from being in a relegation battle, and Bruno's difference on the squad is more than just a few wins.

To go into next season without Bruno would be leaving Amorim with a weaker squad than he's currently got, unless we have an incredible transfer window. The argument that we would be able to afford an incredible window with the sale of Bruno may be correct on one level, but can we really attract the players we would need to not only replace Bruno but significantly improve the squad too? Because that's what needed, and if we fail to win Europa we will have no European football to offer new players on the back of our worst season since we were relegated.

Posters comparing this to Real selling Ronaldo at the right time is nonsense. Real were the best team in the world who could attract anyone. We can't do that. We can't score goals. I'm not sure we can afford to sell our only top-drawer creative goal threat and rely on unproven signings to replace him.

Another season like this, or god-forbid worse, would immediately nullify any profit we make from this deal, and we're much more likely to have a season like that with Bruno gone.
 
If we were to get 100mil. We'd need to buy 2 players that combine Bruno's strengths for us. So work rate, goals, assists and creativity. If apparently we have the money for Cunha and Delap. Then would the Bruno fee allow us to bring in Mbuemo and possibly Stiller? I'd imagine those 2 would be available for 100mil combined.

Between those 4 signings they have 46G 22A.

Cunha Delap Mbuemo​

Dorgu Stiller Ugarte Amad​

I wouldn't mind that set up if I'm honest. You've got attacking threat, work rate and creativity in abundance there. That is all without the money a potential CL place gets us too. I'm not wanting or expecting Bruno to leave but for the right price, that's not a bad team to build.
 
Ultimately the decision has to be with Bruno.

If he wants to go then we'd be daft to force him to stay when there's stupid money on the table. On the other hand, forcing our best player and club captain out the door because some Saudi's are getting their cheque books out would be an atrocious way to treat a great servant of the club.

His call. He doesn't seem like the type to be happy playing retirement football, I'd be more concerned if it was Madrid or Barcelona in for him.
 
I would be gutted to see him go, but I couldn't blame him. The club better put in the work if that happens though, we've been riddled with players falling injured or being unable to stay fit, I'd hate to lose one of the few reliable ones.
 
If Utd win the Europa League this year then he should go, as at that stage he'll have won a League Cup, and FA Cup and a Europa League with Utd and completed the set.

In terms of the big two trophies (Premier League & Champions League), well, they're not realistic targets for the rest of the decade so he's not winning them at Man Utd no matter how long he stays.

If the money offered (£1m a week) is anything like being close to true, then he'll go I'd say. He'd be leaving Man Utd with a full suite of (attainable for this level of club) trophies and will be looked back on as a club legend for good. Sure, he won't be in the bracket as the legends from the Busby/Ferguson eras, but the rest of Man Utd's history is that of a plucky club from the northwest that likes to run with the big boys when the managerial stars align. It's not Bruno's fault that he arrived at a time when expectations and reality were at odds with one another.
 
Happy if he stays, not entirely surprised and understand the rationale if we allow him to leave, if the money is what is being quoted, along with Rashford, Antony, Lindelof, Eriksen and Sancho all leaving it is a lot of money being freed up in wages and a massive pile of cash to start shaping what the next team looks like.

I won't be doing cartwheels at him leaving, but we have to be realistic about the position we are in. Bruno Fernandes is probably not a part of our next league title winning side, moving on from him now would be sensible.
 
groovyalbert said:
I'm not convinced the club is in a position to follow this logic sadly. We aren't challenging for the title or even a top 5 contender, far from it. We are a few more losses away from being in a relegation battle, and Bruno's difference on the squad is more than just a few wins.


Posters comparing this to Real selling Ronaldo at the right time is nonsense. Real were the best team in the world who could attract anyone. We can't do that. We can't score goals. I'm not sure we can afford to sell our only top-drawer creative goal threat and rely on unproven signings to replace him.
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I assume you are referencing me, but how is it nonsense? You got it the wrong way. We are the perfect candidate in this position to follow that logic, because we aren't competing for any titles. If we were, then in that case it would be stupid to sell Bruno. Let's be real, we were never in any danger of being relegated with or without Bruno. We are not risking relegation next season with or without him, and it is silly to even worry about it.

The other point you're talking about: we're close to signing Cunha who effectively provides Bruno's numbers by himself, so you could say he replaces him before we even got the £100m from Bruno's sale, leaving us in the same position next season before we even buy any players from Bruno's sale.
 
If he is being offered 65m a year, tax free for 3 years at the age of 31. That would make you turn your head - not because you’re disloyal to United, but that money sets multiple generations of his family up for life.

If they’re talking 150m, I can see him going. I agree we’ve invested poorly before but if we put the 150m on top of hopefully other sales, with smarter reinvesting it could be the best long term move in years.

I sometime feel United fall on their sword when it comes to not wanting change and we hang onto players often far too long. Perhaps this is a risk worth taking for the good of the club long term, perhaps not short term.

It could also go tits up. So ultimately, I don’t know but if they offer something like 150m I think serious consideration is needed. 100m feck off. Take them to the cleaners.
 
I think this one comes down to pragmatism by the United higher ups. If we were to get a bid north of £100m the smart move is to sell him, and reinvest in the squad. The alternative is we have his output for the next 2 years and he maybe goes there on a free, or he declines and we have to replace him anyway.

Our track record with recruitment has been very poor, but we did buy Bruno so there is some hope, and hopefully with the new recruitment team it would help us with our rebuild.

Really like Bruno but anything over £100m has to be seriously considered.
 
The Uncle of All Uncles said:
If Utd win the Europa League this year then he should go, as at that stage he'll have won a League Cup, and FA Cup and a Europa League with Utd and completed the set.

In terms of the big two trophies (Premier League & Champions League), well, they're not realistic targets for the rest of the decade so he's not winning them at Man Utd no matter how long he stays.

If the money offered (£1m a week) is anything like being close to true, then he'll go I'd say. He'd be leaving Man Utd with a full suite of (attainable for this level of club) trophies and will be looked back on as a club legend for good. Sure, he won't be in the bracket as the legends from the Busby/Ferguson eras, but the rest of Man Utd's history is that of a plucky club from the northwest that likes to run with the big boys when the managerial stars align. It's not Bruno's fault that he arrived at a time when expectations and reality were at odds with one another.
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Good post.
 
Grizzly B said:
Our track record with recruitment has been very poor, but we did buy Bruno so there is some hope
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It only took us 43 (?) attempts. And that's excluding every loan deal and player costing less than 10 million. I reckon 70-80% of our transfers have been failures. And most of the remaining have been squad options or players who are just fit to fill in the blanks between the actual quality players. Finding those are not hard. Finding true quality is.
 
The Uncle of All Uncles said:
but the rest of Man Utd's history is that of a plucky club from the northwest that likes to run with the big boys when the managerial stars align. It's not Bruno's fault that he arrived at a time when expectations and reality were at odds with one another.
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The fault, my dear Uncle, is not in our stars but ourselves.

No more 'plucky north west club' rants, please. There's plenty of copium in those narratives on many an abu stronghold.

Let's not badger ourselves with it.
 
For me, Bruno fits in with Rashford as two players who are good for top 4 sides but not title winning sides, and have been here long enough for us to realise that. It’s that they can’t do the basics right (control, first touch, decision making) so aren’t consistent enough. If they aren’t scoring or assisting they can at times come across as absolute dogshit. For Rashford, if the long term vision is to win the league, he should go…even if it means in the meantime someone worse than him is playing all the time.

However, for Bruno, I feel that (unlike Rashford) he is constantly willing to fight and is one of the few leaders. Getting rid of him now could be short term pain that actually sets us back massively in the long term. It would be a stupid decision.
 
Still too young and too good to go to a joke of a league.

We probably have at least two more seasons of Bruno at his best before his production begins to drop off. We need so many other things in this squad that we can't really afford to throw away our best player and captain during this phase of the rebuild.
 
devilish said:
I'm old enough to remember us replacing Eric with Sheringham. Liverpool mates of mine teased me on it as they saw it as the beginning of the end of our success. Well it didn't turned that way and a Cantona less squad reached heights that Cantona wouldn't dream of ever reaching.

Football is a squad game. It's all about balance. I never said that Cunha or mbuemo are better then Bruno. That would be hilarious. But add the two together, bring in a top striker and a solid no 8 and a top RWB and we suddenly have a balanced side. We also need to take Bruno's age into account. He's got 3 top seasons left in him at most. Will we be back on top in 2-3 years time?
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We had a much better, well balanced squad when Cantona left, albeit, we were massively reliant on him for big moments, that part is analogous.

I just think we're so short on leaders compared to back then that we cannot fill a Bruno sized void, especially given our record with recent transfers. Plus when Cantona left we weren't hovering over relegation
 
Scandi Red said:
It only took us 43 (?) attempts. And that's excluding every loan deal and player costing less than 10 million. I reckon 70-80% of our transfers have been failures. And most of the remaining have been squad options or players who are just fit to fill in the blanks between the actual quality players. Finding those are not hard. Finding true quality is.
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I think the point I was trying to make is that we are going to have to replace him in 2-3 years anyway, so why not do it now with £100m + in the bank, than in 3 years time when he goes to Saudi for nothing (if thats what the player wants).

If we have the attitude of "well we've been rubbish at recruitment so don't sell anyone" then we might as well all pack up and go home and never buy any players again. Have to give the new structure a chance.
 
Solius said:
Imagine calling him not having the best of seasons last year “antics”.

Chatting absolute shite as usual.
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I was referring to the Saudi talks about Bruno that seems to pop up every summer. Last season it preceded a pay rise at a time when United were pushing for pay cuts and job cuts. That's the antics I was referring to

But ok
 
If he agrees a deal with the saudis, you should ask for 100+ millions, hand him an official Letter of Apology for wasting his prime, and let him go
 
Grizzly B said:
I think the point I was trying to make is that we are going to have to replace him in 2-3 years anyway, so why not do it now with £100m + in the bank, than in 3 years time when he goes to Saudi for nothing (if thats what the player wants).
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First of all, we don't know when Bruno's decline will start or how steep it will be. They are not the same player of course, but Modric kept clocking in 3000+ minutes per season for Real Madrid up until 2022-23, which was the year he turned 38 (!). If Bruno has a similar aging profile then that's 7 more seasons. And even if his decline happens twice as early that's still a lot of football.

Secondly, we lose a good and reliable captain. Who will take the armband? An even older Maguire with one year left on his contract? De Ligt? Ugarte? Not an inspiring list...

Lastly, even if we don't win the PL or CL while Bruno is around it is important that we establish ourselves as a consistent top 4 team and then title challengers. This can definitely happen within 2-3 years and we need all the help we can get.
 
devilish said:
I was referring to the Saudi talks about Bruno that seems to pop up every summer. Last season it preceded a pay rise at a time when United were pushing for pay cuts and job cuts. That's the antics I was referring to

But ok
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Nothing but rumour (if even that). Has anything ever been confirmed he even spoke with them or was negotiating? Or that any of it came from his side? To call it antics is hilarious.
 
giorno said:
If he agrees a deal with the saudis, you should ask for 100+ millions, hand him an official Letter of Apology for wasting his prime, and let him go
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If he agrees and wants to go, I don't think the club will get in his way. We'll just juice as much money as we can from it and let him go.
 
Cantona of Lagos said:
I assume you are referencing me, but how is it nonsense? You got it the wrong way. We are the perfect candidate in this position to follow that logic, because we aren't competing for any titles. If we were, then in that case it would be stupid to sell Bruno. Let's be real, we were never in any danger of being relegated with or without Bruno. We are not risking relegation next season with or without him, and it is silly to even worry about it.

The other point you're talking about: we're close to signing Cunha who effectively provides Bruno's numbers by himself, so you could say he replaces him before we even got the £100m from Bruno's sale, leaving us in the same position next season before we even buy any players from Bruno's sale.
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Man Utd have just had their worst season in decades and could well finish the season in 17th. Take Europa out of the equation and it's been catastrophic. I think Bruno's contribution to the team adds ten-points to our tally this season and if it wasn't for a feeble showing from the promoted teams this year we could quite easily have found ourselves in a more serious relegation scrap. Assuming the likes of Burnley and Leeds put up a better showing next season, there's zero guarantee based on what we've seen in the league since Amorim joined that we should assume differently next time round.

The optics of selling your best and only consistent attacking goal threat on the back of a season like this would be really strange, especially as we're likely already losing Sancho, Antony, Rashford and possibly Hojlund and Garnacho in the summer. We're also losing Eriksen. We would be left with an attack of Zirkzee, Amad, Chido and Mount. Even if you keep Hojlund and Garnacho that's a terrible list of options, one that definitely finishes well in the bottom half next season. Of course there'll be additions but no signing is a guaranteed success, and even less so when coming into an unsettled environment that demands they hit the ground running. We are also far from guaranteed any of our top options for critical positions.

We are in such a dire situation but it's one that could get worse still. There is so little certainty around the club right now and getting rid of one of the only players guaranteed to contribute, stay fit and carry the team would be lunacy in my opinion. Also - 100m would barely offset another season like this if we went through the same again. We're way more likely to go through that without Bruno than with.
 
Solius said:
Nothing but rumour (if even that). Has anything ever been confirmed he even spoke with them or was negotiating? Or that any of it came from his side? To call it antics is hilarious.
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Well if I remember well romano confirmed that his agent spoke with Saudi last year and the year before. This year he only limited himself in saying that they want him.

I respect Bruno a lot, I think he is our best player and the only player we currently got that wouldn't look out of place in a SAf top side. I don't blame him if he is thinking of accepting the offer either. He's nearly 31 and we probably won't win the league in the next 1-2 years. I can't blame the club either irrespective whether they keep him (he's our best player) or sell him (it's the last time we can cash on him, his style of football tend not to age well + we need the money for a rebuild). There's no correct decision here and both options carry risks. As howson said I am glad that I am not the one taking the decision
 
cpresc said:
We had a much better, well balanced squad when Cantona left, albeit, we were massively reliant on him for big moments, that part is analogous.

I just think we're so short on leaders compared to back then that we cannot fill a Bruno sized void, especially given our record with recent transfers. Plus when Cantona left we weren't hovering over relegation
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I assure you that selling Eric was considered a big hit at the time especially when we replaced him with a player who was considered as a quick fix and who was clearly a downgrade. However I do agree that we had a much better squad at the time. That's a non brainer.

My point is that there are certain players that while being incredibly good they do tend to attract all the attention and the focus on themselves. Thus the team start playing to suit them which of course makes sense considering that they are the best players but do tend to hurt the squad's ability to be unpredictable and to step up to the next level. I can mention a lot of players, all of whom legends of the game, who were like that from Eric to Ibra right to Baggio. They all dominated the squads they played for, dictating their tempo and would struggle when they failed to do so. I do wonder if Bruno is like that as well. Let us not forget that Sporting started dominating the league the year after Bruno left. Not that I am expecting that to happen with United.

To conclude I think that there's no real correct answer to this question. Bruno staying make sense as he's our best player, he's a leader and we're indeed a poor side. Bruno leaving for silly money make sense as well as we need the money to rebuild the side, he might be attracted to that silly money as well, he's nearly 31 and we're probably not going to win the league in his 'career time'. I fully subscribe to what Howson said a day or two ago. I am glad that I am not the one taking that decision.
 
SamoyedSam said:
Given his age it would be very hard to turn that kind of money down, with a significant rebuild needed. As good as he's been in a mediocre team, is he really more valuable than Cunha and Eze? You could buy those 2 with the money and transform this team.
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Yes
 
The other thing that irks me massively is this is dragging on until post the EL Final, this is gonna be a massive disruption
 
Ok here’s a mental exercise.

1. Were offered £120m for Bruno
2. We have a quiet deal with Chelsea agreed for £120m for Palmer who’s agreed personal terms.

Do you do the deal?

(This is probably the only scenario I’d be happy with)
 
cpresc said:
Ok here’s a mental exercise.

1. Were offered £120m for Bruno
2. We have a quiet deal with Chelsea agreed for £120m for Palmer who’s agreed personal terms.

Do you do the deal?

(This is probably the only scenario I’d be happy with)
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That Yamal kid would be fine too.
 
65M a year tax free for 3 years for a 31 years old is just insane. Bruno should take it as this kind of opportunity will never come again.

150-200M transfer fees, we should take it as we are in desperate need for major rebuild. Bruno will be 31 next years and we should take the offer for long term benefits to the club.
 
IncyWincySpider said:
We didn’t actually sell Cantona though did we, he just retired, enigmatically as ever.
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It also ignores the fact that nothing about Cantona leaving made us better, we went backwards after Cantona left and it wasn't until we signed Stam and Yorke and Beckham/Scholes/Giggs/the Nevilles were all about to enter their peak that we improved. We'd have been a better side with Cantona in the squad over Sheringham.
 
if there are two options before you
(A) Bruno leaves for 150M this year
(B) Bruno stays for 1 year and leaves 100M next year

which one would you choose?
 
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Mistake if he goes in my opinion.

Clearly there is arguments for and against e.g. that kind of money sets up not only his family but multiple generations. I am guessing hes not short of a bob or two as it is. Then there is the take that you get from the OLD brigade (Scholes, Keane, Neville) He's not captain material, moans too much etc. Different generation and they are all coming from squads that had multiple captains.

While I very much agree with the mindset that the squad needs further surgery, it's just not practical to let 5,6,7 players go and get 3 or 4 in. The club needs an element of continuity in the match day squad. He may not be the perfect captain, However it's clear he plays for the club and the badge, he seem's to get 'it' and is probably the best leader we have right now.
 
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