Newcastle United CEO David Hopkinson admitted the Magpies are satisfied to have negotiated a transfer fee beyond what Arsenal wanted to pay for Bruno Guimarães as his move to north London was confirmed. No midfielder at the age of 28 has ever been transferred for more.
A fee of $101 million (£75 million) was agreed between the two sides last week after, in Hopkinson’s words, Guimarães made a “very emotional” request to leave St James’ Park this summer.
“We didn’t want to sell Bruno,” Hopkinson confessed. “It wasn’t in the plan to sell Bruno. None of us, or ownership, wanted to sell Bruno. He’s our captain, he was very, very important to us.
“What we had to weigh up was, very respectfully from Bruno with his behavior towards us, very emotionally as well, effectively told us he wanted to leave and move on.
“That doesn’t mean he can go but it certainly plays a part in what our thinking is when we hit a certain range of number. But there’s no point in saying it was part of our strategy and was in our thinking this summer—it wasn’t.
“But we have got to be flexible and react to things that happen. It might have been in our plan to sign one player but we didn’t get him so we move on to another. We can only be honest about that.”
Hopkinson: Not the Fee Arsenal Wanted to Pay
The saga revolving around Guimarães was a curious one which began with plenty of discussions between intermediaries and confusion surrounding his price tag.
Early reports claimed Arsenal were confident Guimarães could be signed for below $81 million (£60 million), but Newcastle soon countered with an asking price of $135 million (£100 million). Ultimately, the two sides met somewhere in the middle.
“It was not the fee that I think Arsenal had hoped to pay and of course we would have liked an even higher number,” Hopkinson explained.
“But I think you’re dealing with sophisticated actors on both sides and that’s what negotiation looks like.
“It’s a fee that satisfies us. If you want to put a merchandising spin on it, it’s the highest fee for a player in that position at that age. Is that a good deal for Newcastle United? I believe it is.
“Arsenal is getting a very special player and special person so this works from a financial perspective for both sides.”
