Bruno Fernandes Out? | Al Hilal ready to offer 80m

Mods, why are you so reluctant to poll this??

My prediction is it'll be above 70% in favour of selling him now given the opportunity to cash in big.
 
Bastian said:
Mods, why are you so reluctant to poll this??

My prediction is it'll be above 70% in favour of selling him now given the opportunity to cash in big.
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I think it would be a scummy thing to poll to be honest. He’s our captain, loyal as hell to the club, and our best player by an absolute mile.
To put a poll out there of a big section of his fans saying they want him to leave just doesn’t sit.
We don’t need a poll for everything.

Right now people are just thinking about the money and thinking it could be a ”Coutinho moment”, but tending to forget that this is the same club that spent 190 million quid on Højlund, Onana and Mount.
 
If Bruno stays for the next two years, what are we going to achieve? If it's not top four or the title then what is the point. We'd be better off using the next two years to invest in potential players that could get us to that point and using his fee to buy those players.

Not that it's his fault but we've finished 8th and 15th last two seasons. We may miss his stats but we will be fine.
 
Let me preface this by saying I love Bruno as a player.

However I do think that despite some of his performances he does pose problems to us too. Not always his fault as he sometimes becomes basically a one man team because he has and if it pays of he is great, when it doesn't he frustrates.

I honestly see him as Stevie G for us rather than Coutinho. A force at times but undisciplined at times. Wasn't surprised to see Liverpool becoming a different force after Stevie.

The difference is our record over the years of buying rubbish. Liverpool got it right.

If we can get it right, and it's a big IF, then I do think moving Bruno on for the fees being quoted needs done.

Will be sad to see him go but if it helps rebuild the squad then it's the right decision.
 
El Jefe said:
If Bruno stays for the next two years, what are we going to achieve?
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Why sell our best player and captain when he just had his best season? We have a young squad and a young manager. There are bags of potential here. What we need now is quality, pure and simple. Someone who is already the finished product or at the very least clearly in the beginning of their prime. Someone who hits the ground running and don't look back. Basically, players like Bruno.

Selling our one piece of true quality (and our captain on top of this) makes zero sense. The Coutinho situation is not comparable at all, but I can't be bothered to look for my old post on that matter.

If Bruno himself wants to leave: fine. Sad, but fine.
 
I am scared about selling our best player. I would love to see Bruno in a properly functioning United team with a good striker infront of him.
 
Scandi Red said:
Why sell our best player and captain when he just had his best season? We have a young squad and a young manager. There are bags of potential here. What we need now is quality, pure and simple. Someone who is already the finished product or at the very least clearly in the beginning of their prime. Someone who hits the ground running and don't look back. Basically, players like Bruno.

Selling our one piece of true quality (and our captain on top of this) makes zero sense. The Coutinho situation is not comparable at all, but I can't be bothered to look for my old post on that matter.

If Bruno himself wants to leave: fine. Sad, but fine.
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You quote my question which was the premise behind selling him and you still didn't answer it.

If Bruno stays for the next two years, what are we going to achieve?
 
El Jefe said:
If Bruno stays for the next two years, what are we going to achieve?
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I don't understand your question. Are you some sort of trophy samaritan who unselfishly only care about Bruno's individual achievements and therefore want him to leave for his own good? In which case I agree that he should be sold.

But if we want to build a strong team we need all the help we can get. We need leaders and skilled players who are hardworking and fit. Not only because they are role models for the younger players, but also because their skills help them evolve.
 
Regulus Arcturus Black said:
I think it would be a scummy thing to poll to be honest. He’s our captain, loyal as hell to the club, and our best player by an absolute mile.
To put a poll out there of a big section of his fans saying they want him to leave just doesn’t sit.
We don’t need a poll for everything.

Right now people are just thinking about the money and thinking it could be a ”Coutinho moment”, but tending to forget that this is the same club that spent 190 million quid on Højlund, Onana and Mount.
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Well said.

While I'd reluctantly sell for epic money, like 200m, even then I'd happily turn it down if he said he wanted to stay and continue to fight for the club.

I'm just glad that the poster a few pages back, who'd want to try and punt him out for 40m, isn't in charge!
 
All this excitement to sell Bruno yet the player has given no indication he wants to go to the Saudi league. The noise is all coming from Saudi.
 
Oscar Bonavena said:
The club is making the same mistake it has made for the past decade or more. Failing to cash out on players when we have a chance, and holding onto them on massive wages past their prime, when we won't be able to give them away.
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Exactly this.
We never seem to learn.
£80m and should be a done deal.
By the time we can realistically challenge for something meaningful he’ll be 33.
Then we won’t be able to give him away.
 
My worry is our woeful form will continue next season. Without Bruno, even with some alright investment, I'm sceptical that we won't be relegated. Then we're fecked.. That's my fear at least. I was up for selling him even a year ago but the team has regressed so much.
 
Pickle85 said:
It absolutely is. Or do you mean you'd be happy to sell Bruno and either have the money not be reinvested, or be reinvested such a way as to make us worse than before we sold him
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My point was that you do not choose to not sell a player when presented with an acceptable offer because you don't feel the club would be able to reinvest it properly. That makes zero sense. No point in operating as a football club at all, in that case.

In actual fact, It is possible that I misinterpreted the original post I replied to. It is possible that the poster meant that they have no faith in us reinvesting any future fee for Bruno at all, which is obviously not a concern. Of course any fee received for Bruno will be reinvested.
 
Regulus Arcturus Black said:
I think it would be a scummy thing to poll to be honest. He’s our captain, loyal as hell to the club, and our best player by an absolute mile.
To put a poll out there of a big section of his fans saying they want him to leave just doesn’t sit.
We don’t need a poll for everything.

Right now people are just thinking about the money and thinking it could be a ”Coutinho moment”, but tending to forget that this is the same club that spent 190 million quid on Højlund, Onana and Mount.
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It's not the same club, they were Glazers funded purchases.

INEOS for all their faults seem so much better in the market.
 
Remember the geese said:
My point was that you do not choose to not sell a player when presented with an acceptable offer because you don't feel the club would be able to reinvest it properly. That makes zero sense. No point in operating as a football club at all, in that case.

In actual fact, It is possible that I misinterpreted the original post I replied to. It is possible that the poster meant that they have no faith in us reinvesting any future fee for Bruno at all, which is obviously not a concern. Of course any fee received for Bruno will be reinvested.
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But this logic falls down when the player in question is our most important player and has just come off the back of a great season. That, coupled with our recent transfer history should absolutely give us pause. It's not like we're being offered acceptable money for a peripheral player. He's the most important player in this team. I get the logic behind selling, even if I don't agree, but let's not minimise the fact that it would be an enormous gamble given our recent transfer history.
 
Scandi Red said:
I don't understand your question. Are you some sort of trophy samaritan who unselfishly only care about Bruno's individual achievements and therefore want him to leave for his own good? In which case I agree that he should be sold.

But if we want to build a strong team we need all the help we can get. We need leaders and skilled players who are hardworking and fit. Not only because they are role models for the younger players, but also because their skills help them evolve.
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It’s such a simple question. Do you think we’ll be a top 4 team, mid table team with a cup or two, bottom half or in the hunt for Europa and Conference League.

The team as currently constructed is not ready to challenge and is probably 3 years away, two if we are being extremely optimistic. By that time Bruno would be 34 so why not cash in and build the team with pieces that will be allow us to challenge long term.

If this team was ready to challenge for big trophies then selling Bruno wouldn’t make much sense but we aren’t so I don’t see the point. The opportunity cost of selling him is worth more than keeping him in my opinion.

If and that’s the key word here, but if we were to sign young players particularly in midfield and attack that can usher in the next generation, we would forget about Bruno pretty quickly. Not in terms of what he did for us but in terms of what we feel he can offer us.
 
Pickle85 said:
But this logic falls down when the player in question is our most important player and has just come off the back of a great season. That, coupled with our recent transfer history should absolutely give us pause. It's not like we're being offered acceptable money for a peripheral player. He's the most important player in this team. I get the logic behind selling, even if I don't agree, but let's not minimise the fact that it would be an enormous gamble given our recent transfer history.
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I don't believe it is an enormous gamble. Currently, this super important player is part of a side that has finished 15th. We aren't going to sink any lower. If we are offered big money for a soon to be 31 year old, it's a no brainer.

Funnily enough, without signing Gyökeres, I feel that we won't be finishing in the Champions League positions regardless.
 
Regulus Arcturus Black said:
There is no question the club will be targetting top 4 next season man. Forest were just a whisker away from it for heaven’s sake.
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And I could just as easily say with all the money Chelsea have spent the last couple of years they needed to win on the last day to guarantee CL qualification.

I doubt that is the target for us if I’m being honest. Our target next season should just be seeing considerable improvement on the pitch. We have to look at this team as a project over a few years now.
 
Remember the geese said:
I don't believe it is an enormous gamble. Currently, this super important player is part of a side that has finished 15th. We aren't going to sink any lower. If we are offered big money for a soon to be 31 year old, it's a no brainer.

Funnily enough, without signing Gyökeres, I feel that we won't be finishing in the Champions League positions regardless.
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Why not?! We were pretty fortunate to finish 15th in the end. We could absolutely finish lower without our best player and with poor recruitment. You're just making some assumptions that I don't think are as clear cut as you seem to (that we can't fall any lower, that we'll recruit adequately to replace him etc). As I see it there are no guarantees there
 
Pickle85 said:
Why not?! We were pretty fortunate to finish 15th in the end. We could absolutely finish lower without our best player and with poor recruitment. You're just making some assumptions that I don't think are as clear cut as you seem to (that we can't fall any lower, that we'll recruit adequately to replace him etc). As I see it there are no guarantees there
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It’s an odd argument. ”We’re gonna finish midtable anyway so why do we even need good players, better to have cash”.

So if the poster isn’t selling him to invest in a top 4 push, does he just want money in the bank?
 
El Jefe said:
If this team was ready to challenge for big trophies then selling Bruno wouldn’t make much sense but we aren’t so I don’t see the point. The opportunity cost of selling him is worth more than keeping him in my opinion.
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None of us know the future. We don't know how long the ongoing rebuild will take, nor how long Bruno will remain useful. He could crash and burn tomorrow or he could be a regular starter for another 5 years. The only thing we know is that he currently is our best player. He stands out in so many ways. Not just in skill but in leadership too.

And it's far too simplistic to conclude that if we don't challenge for the title in the next 2 years then everyone who's older than 30 should be sold. The process matters too. You need mentors along the way. You need players who are fit to start games. And you need a couple of good wins here and there to keep morale up.
 
I love Bruno but there's a part of me growing into the idea that moving on from him may be best. If you look at Liverpool for example, they've threats and creativity all over the pitch, not just coming from one source. It was the same under SAF, we had players chipping in with goals and assists from all over. Bruno is essentially our Steven Gerrard, he's dragged us through tough moments but ultimately we need to start building a threatening side, rather than relying on one player.
 
Regulus Arcturus Black said:
It’s an odd argument. ”We’re gonna finish midtable anyway so why do we even need good players, better to have cash”.

So if the poster isn’t selling him to invest in a top 4 push, does he just want money in the bank?
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Just whack all proceeds on Trump Coin or whatever and we're going TO THE MOON.

Seriously though I do think that some are in for a rude awakening if he does leave when it's finally clear just how important to us he is at the mo.
 
Regulus Arcturus Black said:
I think it would be a scummy thing to poll to be honest. He’s our captain, loyal as hell to the club, and our best player by an absolute mile.
To put a poll out there of a big section of his fans saying they want him to leave just doesn’t sit.
We don’t need a poll for everything.

Right now people are just thinking about the money and thinking it could be a ”Coutinho moment”, but tending to forget that this is the same club that spent 190 million quid on Højlund, Onana and Mount.
Click to expand...

I understand that reasoning. I don't really agree, but it's a fair point. This forum has then done a scummy thing for every manager, a few times for some. I just think it would be interesting to know how many people on here want to retain him because he's our best player and hope for some outstanding short-term and how many want to focus exclusively on the long-term and use this opportunity. It did not striker me as some outstanding loyalty last season when he had 2+1 year left on his deal and was obviously courting interest and saying he'd stay if the club showed they wanted him to stay (he already had a long contract on 200K a week or more). He got his 300K a week deal (no one in our squad is worth anywhere near that) and I'm happy he has kept that option open by stating if the club want to cash in he will leave.

Not execting a Coutinho moment. I think Bruno will thrive wherever he'll go. But it'll be positive for us in the long run.
 
If Bruno doesn't particularly want to go and the manager doesn't particularly want him to go, I'd say there's no point in selling him. If he's the first name on the team sheet he's clearly not a position we need to worry about for a couple more seasons. We've got enough other positions to fill without creating an unnecessary extra one.
 
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