Bruno Fernandes is closing in on a new bumper five-year contract with Manchester United.
Mirror Football understands that the Portuguese playmaker will double his salary to around £240,000-per-week, with the deal set to keep him at Old Trafford until at least 2027. The new contract will place Fernandes as the club’s third highest earner, behind only David de Gea and the Premier League ’s best paid player, Cristiano Ronaldo.
It is believed that talks between Fernandes’ representatives and Red Devils bosses have been ongoing for more than a year, but after making a breakthrough earlier this week, confirmation of his extension could soon be announced . The 27-year-old joined United in January 2020, moving from Sporting in a deal worth £47million - initially signing a five-and-a-half year contract.
But such has been his impact in English football, with more than three years remaining on the deal he signed upon his arrival to the club, United are willing to renegotiate. After scoring 12 goals in his first half season with the club, Fernandes plundered 28 in all competitions last term, making him far and away United’s top scorer.
However, his form has somewhat tailed off this term, with the arrival of his compatriot Ronaldo meaning he lost the role of ‘main man’, first under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and then under interim boss Ralf Rangnick. But that hasn’t deterred Old Trafford chiefs who are ready to tie their future to the Portugal international, regardless of who the new manager may be.
And that is what the biggest concerns from United supporters revolve around. With the process to hire a new long-term manager now underway, there are major question marks over the direction of the team in the coming years.
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After the failure of Solskjaer’s tenure, United are hoping to hand the new boss a clean slate to overhaul the playing squad, but will have little choice other than ensuring Fernandes in front and centre of any potential rebuild. With such a huge period of time before his contract expires, there is an argument that the decision to extend could be delayed until the new head coach is settled in the dugout and has a plan for Fernandes moving forward.
Jumping the gun on contract negotiations certainly isn’t a new phenomenon at United, with the likes of Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Nemanja Matic all given extended deals well before time. And while Fernandes’ importance to United is another sphere to those players, former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward made a terrible habit of appearing to rush into contract talks to give an apparent veneer of stability.
A look at Woodward’s decisions with managers proves that desperation. First Jose Mourinho and then Solskjaer were both given new contracts less than a year before they were sacked. While perhaps a more appropriate example for Fernandes and his United paymasters would be to look at the struggles of club captain Harry Maguire.
Coming off the back of a strong 2020/21 campaign and a Euro 2020 run which saw England and Maguire reach the final, the central defender had all the leverage in any discussions. In October, reports claimed that Maguire was set to be handed an improved long-term contract, which would have seen him become one of the club’s top earners.
That didn’t materialise and United bosses will be thanking their lucky stars that it didn’t. Seven months on and Maguire’s place in the XI is under threat with suggestions that a new centre-back could be on the agenda in the summer window. And while Fernandes’ stock hasn’t plummeted to that affect, Maguire’s drop is a cautionary tale to a club apparently desperate to cling onto any shoots of positivity, as quickly and carelessly as they possibly can.
