Manchester United's New Contract Plans for Bruno Fernandes
Manchester United have started formal groundwork on a new contract for Bruno Fernandes, determined to shut down the noise around their captain’s future and keep him at Old Trafford for the long haul.
The club have opened preliminary talks with the Portugal international and, according to Football Insider, are ready to use every tool at their disposal. One of those is the one-year extension clause already built into his current deal – a safety valve United plan to trigger to buy time and protect his value.
Fernandes has around 10 months left on his existing £220,000-a-week contract, but United hold an option to push that to 2026. Even with that cushion, the hierarchy want a fresh agreement signed before the end of the calendar year, a clear attempt to kill off any lingering transfer speculation before it gathers pace again.
The timing is no coincidence. Fernandes is in the kind of form that makes clubs circle.
At the weekend he ripped Ipswich Town apart, scoring a stunning hat-trick and adding an assist in a 5-2 win, just days after being named PFA Player of the Year. It was a performance that underlined what United already know: this team still runs to his rhythm.
That reality has not gone unnoticed abroad. Galatasaray have emerged as serious contenders for his signature, with reports of a four-year offer on the table that would effectively double his current wages. The Turkish club’s proposal is said to include a £3.5m signing-on fee, a lucrative package for a player entering the final stretch of his elite career.
It is not the first time Fernandes has stood at a crossroads. Last summer, his camp held high-level talks in Riyadh with Al-Hilal, who were prepared to put an extraordinary £200m, spread over three years, in front of him. The move never materialised, but it served as a stark reminder of his global market power.
On the pitch, his numbers speak louder than any negotiation.
Since arriving from Sporting CP in January 2020, Fernandes has produced 110 goals and 109 assists in 329 appearances for United. Last season he set a new Premier League record with 21 assists, reinforcing his status as one of the most creative players the competition has seen. He has repeatedly spoken about the demands of playing for United and the standards he must meet, and his output continues to match that rhetoric.
All of this plays into United’s internal calculations as they reshape the club under Michael Carrick. The new head coach is building a different era, but Fernandes remains the central pillar of the tactical plan and the dressing room hierarchy.
To reflect that, United are understood to be ready to make him their highest-paid player. The proposed new deal would add at least a year to his stay and lift his weekly salary to around £350,000.
The question now is not whether United want to keep Bruno Fernandes. It is how far they are willing to go to ensure their captain never seriously considers walking away.
