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Hello! Manchester United were due a positive week. They’re having one.
On the way:
❌ Bruno rejects Saudi megabucks
🤝 City agree £46m Reijnders fee
👀 Poch reacts to Pulisic no-show
🥅 Double-hit penalty law change
Bruno banks on United: Captain rejects £30m a year Saudi move to stay at highest level
Manchester United have spent several weeks taking punches from all angles. If it wasn’t the Europa League bringing them down, it was those pesky mice droppings trashing their hygiene rating. Football had them caught in a trap, whichever way they turned.
But on the face of it, hope springs eternal. Since it all went turgidly wrong in Bilbao, Matheus Cunha has taken the plunge and nailed his colours to their mast. Bryan Mbeumo is signalling his intention to follow Cunha’s lead. And captain Bruno Fernandes will die another day.
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Fernandes is too good for 15th in the Premier League and Al Hilal must have thought that by offering to make him rich beyond European dreams, the Portugal midfielder would join them in a heartbeat. Yesterday, however, Fernandes said no, resisting a staggeringly tasty contract in Saudi Arabia.
Sources spoken to by The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell revealed that Al Hilal’s pitch to Fernandes comprised of:
- An annual wage of £21million ($28.4m), or £400,000 a week, which equated to three times his salary at Old Trafford. This was increased to £29.5m, or £565,000 a week, while talks were in the balance — far more than any salary he would earn in Europe.
- A contract running for four years, taking him to the age of 34. Given his age, it’s unlikely that a proposal so lucrative will be dangled in front of him again.
- The promise of a fee of up to £100m for United, which would have helped finance the club’s proposed signing of Mbeumo from Brentford.
Head coach Ruben Amorim didn’t want Fernandes to leave. Fernandes, the saving grace of the shockingly bad season behind United, took stock and resolved to sit tight. “I want to stay at the highest level, play in big competitions, because I still feel capable,” he said as he confirmed his intentions last night. There’s nobody under Amorim more capable than him.
High expectations for Cunha and Mbeumo
None of these developments are a silver bullet for United. Their problems run deep — and far beyond the pitch. But the incremental positives are good for Amorim, who won’t survive another stretch of results so bad.
United scored 44 league goals last season. Between them, Fernandes, Cunha and Mbeumo scored 43. It’s not an exact science, and Amorim can’t cure his ills by merely loading up his forward line, but if the club can meet the cost of Mbeumo, their preferred XI will have a different — and much more appealing — look.
Cunha and Mbeumo have one prime thing in common. In 2024-25, Cunha exceeded his Premier League expected goals figure (8.6) by more than six. Mbeumo exceeded his (12.3) by more than seven, two of the best-performing finishers in their division. It’s not to say that Amorim will secure the same return, or that Fernandes has any more to give — but the barren fields of Old Trafford are showing a few green shoots. It’s all United can ask for.
News round-up
- A first summer signing is on the horizon for Pep Guardiola. Manchester City have negotiated terms for Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders. The 26-year-old will cost £46m.
- Mauricio Pochettino has spoken about USMNT stars, including captain Christian Pulisic, skipping Gold Cup duty. He doesn’t sound overly pleased. “Even Messi, even Neymar, even Mbappe for France, these guys are desperate to go to the national team,” Pochettino said.
- Like his big brother Jude in 2020, Jobe Bellingham is closing in on a transfer to Borussia Dortmund. A price is still to be finalised with Sunderland, but the move is on the cards.
- These are slightly confusing comments from Martin Zubimendi, given that a switch from Real Sociedad to Arsenal is broadly agreed, pending a medical: “It’s going to be a different, long summer, and I don’t know how it will end.” We still expect it to be north London for him.
- Caoimhin Kelleher’s transfer from Liverpool to Brentford is complete. The initial price of £12.5m is a snip. Mark Flekken has just about paid for him by leaving Brentford for Bayer Leverkusen for £8.4m.
- Nottingham Forest have three new signings incoming from Botafogo in Brazil: a striker, a centre-back and a left-back, all aged 24 or younger. The deals are verbally agreed.
- Crystal Palace are to hold talks with UEFA to determine whether they can compete in the Europa League next season. Lyon have also qualified and John Textor holds a stake in both, potentially contravening multi-club ownership rules.
- A pre-trial inquest hearing heard how Jonathan Morgan, the coach at the centre of an investigation into the death of former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack, exhibited “bullying behaviour”. One witness accused him of calling Cusask a “f***ing fruitcake”. Morgan denies being in any way to blame for Cusack’s death.
Manager moves: Inzaghi set for Saudi in latest Italian switch
Dan Mullan/Getty Images
You win some, you lose some, and while Al Hilal were conceding defeat with Fernandes, they fared better in applying the finishing touches to the appointment of Simone Inzaghi (above) as head coach.
We’re awaiting official confirmation and details of Inzaghi’s remuneration in Saudi — his diet isn’t going to be bread and water — and although he’s bringing a stellar reign at Inter to a low-key end, I get it.
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Domestically, he won everything in Italy. He couldn’t have gone much further in Europe than two Champions League final defeats (and the ageing team routed by Paris Saint-Germain last Saturday wasn’t going to get stronger). A manager bowing out on his terms is a rare luxury.
With his departure, Serie A is changing at pace. Gian Piero Gasperini has quit Atalanta. Massimiliano Allegri is in at Milan. Claudio Ranieri will most likely call it a day at Roma. Italian football likes to keep us on our toes.
No copy and paste: Deschamps says he cannot transplant PSG formula for France
How many France caps does Desire Doue — star man in the Champions League final, the pinnacle of club football — hold in his possession?
Answer: one, and it wasn’t even a full game. The anomaly can be explained by the fact that Doue is only 20 and came into this season with a more minor reputation, but what motivation now for France to continue bedding him in gently?
A breakout like his is manna from heaven for a coach, especially in a World Cup cycle. Didier Deschamps, the France boss, has one hell of an array on his chess board — Doue, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise — and all the muscle he needs to make hay in 2026.
Despite that, don’t count on getting PSG-eque flair from Deschamps next summer. “You can’t copy and paste things,” he tells Tom Williams, which is absolutely true. But the magic drawn out of PSG by Luis Enrique might compel the pragmatic Deschamps to release the handbrake a little more. The French aren’t famous for setting themselves limits.
Around TAFC
🖱️ Most clicked in Tuesday’s TAFC: how the Club World Cup contenders made it there.
📬 Love TAFC? Check out The Athletic’s other newsletters, including Full-Time, for women’s soccer.
Catch a match
(Selected games, times ET/UK)
UEFA Nations League semi-final: Germany vs Portugal, 3pm/8pm — Fox Sports, Fubo/Amazon Prime.
Women’s International friendly: USWNT vs Jamaica, 8pm/1am — TNT, Peacock (U.S. only).
And finally…
Vindication — and worthless consolation — for Atletico Madrid. That double-hit penalty which fried them like a bolt of lightning in this season’s Champions League won’t strike again.
You’ll remember the drama: Julian Alvarez’s standing foot touching the ball as he shaped to shoot during Atletico’s last-16 defeat to Real Madrid in March. It was the turning point in a shootout which Real edged.
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Two intentional touches will still result in an effort being registered as a miss but the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body which oversees the laws of the game, has ruled that a retake should take place if, as happened to Alvarez, an accidental double-touch occurs before the ball flies in.
Common sense prevails, three months too late.
(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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