Manchester United have made it clear that Bruno Fernandes will not be sold this summer, regardless of the size of any offer.
Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid, Juventus and AC Milan are among the clubs monitoring the Manchester United captain and considering whether to test the club’s resolve with a formal bid.
Galatasaray, in particular, are understood to be prepared to submit an offer worth £42.7million for the 31-year-old, alongside a significant pay rise to tempt him away from Old Trafford.
No official proposal has been lodged so far, and senior sources at United insist any interested club would be wasting its time. Daily Mail Sport reported in March that the club were planning to open discussions over a new contract for Fernandes, although those talks remain at an early, preliminary stage.
Galatasaray and Fernandes’ other admirers are believed to view the absence of a fresh agreement as a potential vulnerability they can exploit in the transfer market.
Galatasaray are preparing a £42.7million move for Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes
Fernandes has one year remaining on his current Manchester United contract, with the club holding an option to extend it by a further 12 months. He is already among United’s highest earners, behind Marcus Rashford, on a salary of around £220,000 per week.
However, the Portugal international was left hurt by the club’s position last year when Al Hilal were ready to make a £100million offer for him.
The club said it was up to Fernandes whether he wanted to leave and the Portugal international felt they should have expressed a greater desire to keep him, to underline his importance.
Fernandes went on to achieve a Premier League record 21 assists last season and is favourite to be crowned PFA Player of the Year for 2025-26 in Manchester next week.
Despite the allure of greater riches in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, his ambition has been to stay at Old Trafford and see if he can realise his ambition of leading United to a Premier League title challenge.
Throught the turmoil of Ruben Amorim’s tenure and the revival under Michael Carrick, Fernandes has remained close to each coach and been a model professional leading by example on the pitch.
Fernandes, who will be speaking to an audience of fans at invite-only event at Manchester’s Arndale centre on Tuesday, said earlier this summer: ‘It’s not a question of loyalty. I could have gone two years ago, I could have gone three years ago, I could have gone last season, but I really like to be here.
‘I think that being successful at this club is something that I can never get at another club. The joy and everything I get, the day I get what I want from this club, I don’t think I will get that from any other club in the world.’ He told Sky Sports.
Michael Carrick’s side, however, insist the 31-year-old is not available for transfer at any price
‘I won the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup (but) what this club wants, what these fans want and what I want, myself and the team, we haven’t got that yet. Until my contract expires, I’m going to try.’
According to The Telegraph, Dursun Ozbek, the Galatasaray president, is on a mission to sign Fernandes and is prepared to essentially double his money.
The wage on offer is £18.3m annually, which, due to Turkey’s relaxed tax system, means he would take home twice what he earns at United.
The report suggests an offer from Galatasaray would feature an initial bid plus add-ons.
Performance-related add-ons reportedly include £1.3m for every title win up to £5.1m, plus £1.7m if Fernandes is the league’s top assister in his first season or £1.3m if he achieves the accolade in his second.
They could also include £850,000 if Galatasaray qualify for next season’s Champions League, plus another £850,000 if they reach the last-16 and £3m if they reach the quarter-finals.
United are continuing to look for at least one more signing this summer to strengthen Carrick’s hand.
They have bid for Leicester City midfielder Louis Page, along with Arsenal, and want a left-back to compete with Luke Shaw.
However, one midfielder who may yet leave is Toby Collyer who has attracted enquiries from West Bromwich Albion. Discussions are at an early stage over a permanent move.
