- On Monday, Al-Hilal gave Bruno Fernandes 72 hours to decide whether to join
- The Man United captain has admitted he may need to be sold to balance books
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Bruno Fernandes’ agent held face-to-face talks with Al-Hilal at a hotel in Riyadh on Thursday night over a mega-money deal for the Manchester United captain.
It emerged on Monday that the Saudi Pro League club had given Fernandes a final ‘take it or leave it’ offer and told the Portugal star he had 72 hours to decide if he wants to join them.
It’s unclear how the 30-year-old has responded, but the fact that his representative Miguel Pinho has travelled to Riyadh is an intriguing twist. Talks at the Four Seasons hotel are believed to have continued late into the night.
Pinho has been in discussions with the Saudi club for some time over Fernandes, who is currently leading United on their post-season tour of Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Al-Hilal are prepared to effectively quadruple Fernandes’ salary of £280,000-a-week by increasing it to £700,000 tax-free as part of a package worth up to £200million over three years including bonuses.
If he agrees, the club are ready to issue the paperwork on a contract worth around £65m-a-season and make a formal approach to United with a bid in the region of £100m.
Fernandes’ agent Miguel Pinho was spotted in front of the Four Seasons hotel in Riyadh
On Monday, Bruno Fernandes was given 72 hours to decide if he wants to move to Saudi Arabia
Fernandes’ agent Pinho has travelled to Riyadh with the Man United captain on tour
Al-Hilal want to have a marquee player in place for the Club World Cup which starts next month
United sources have re-iterated that they do not want to sell their best player, but the club are under even greater financial pressure after defeat to Tottenham in Wednesday’s Europa League final cost them £100m in Champions League revenue.
Fernandes admitted after the game that he could be sold to balance the books, saying: ‘If the club thinks it’s time to part ways because they want to do some cashing in, it is what it is.’
