- Fernandes recently admitted he may need to be sold to balance books at United
- The Man United captain is currently on a post-season tour of Asia with the club
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Is Ruben Amorim too honest?
Al-Hilal have given Bruno Fernandes one week to make a decision over leaving Manchester United for the Saudi Pro League before they walk away from the deal.
The Riyadh club set an initial 72-hour deadline for Fernandes’ representatives to come to the table over a final ‘take it or leave it’ offer believed to be £200milion over a three-year contract.
The United captain’s agent, Miguel Pinho, spent three days in Saudi this week during which he was shown every aspect of the club, according to sources.
It ended in several hours of talks long into Thursday night at the Four Seasons hotel in Riyadh where Pinho has been staying. It’s understood that the process has been complicated by Fernandes being on different time zones while on a post-season tour with United in the Far East which ended on Friday with a 3-1 win over Hong Kong China.
Head coach Ruben Amorim said after the game that he doesn’t expect it to be Fernandes’ last game for the club, but the 30-year-old is now set to speak to his family and Pinho before making a final decision.
Al-Hilal will push the player for a response to their offer of £700,000-a-week tax-free plus bonuses before approaching United with an offer in the region of £100m.
Al-Hilal have given Bruno Fernandes one week to make a decision over leaving Manchester United
The United captain’s agent, Miguel Pinho (left), spent three days in Saudi this week
Head coach Ruben Amorim said after the game that he doesn’t expect it to be Fernandes’ last game for the club
The Saudi club are said to be impatient and want a marquee player in place for the Club World Cup next month.
They have other targets and could pull the plug before the end of the one-week deadline if they sense that Fernandes is leaning towards staying at Old Trafford.
Al-Hilal are keen to draft the 30-year-old as soon as possible in a bid to have him registered to play in the revamped Club World Cup next month.
If he agrees to the terms being offered, 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.
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 the defeat by Tottenham in Wednesday’s Europa League final cost them £100m in Champions League revenue.
Following United’s devastating loss in Bilbao, Fernandes gave no guarantees that he will remain in Manchester next season.
‘I have always been honest,’ he said. ‘If the club thinks it’s time to part ways because they want to do some cashing in or whatever, it’s what it is. Football sometimes is like this.
‘I’ve always said I will be here until the club says to me that it’s time to go. I’m eager to do more, to be able to bring the club to the great days.
‘The day that the club thinks that I’m too much or it’s time to part ways, football is like this, you never know it. But I’ve always said it and I keep my word in the same way.’
