Man Utd takeover: club paying lawyers 'more than Bruno Fernandes' in weekly fees

Stuart Telford

• 26 Nov 2023 09:24 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United are paying lawyers' fees in excess of the £240,000 a week club captain Bruno Fernandes earns as Sir Jim Ratcliffe's minority investment rumbles on.

The Glazer family first started inviting bids for Man Utd last November, with Ratcliffe and Qatari Sheikh Jassim initially linked with full takeovers of the club.

But the American family want to stay involved, and Ratcliffe has pivoted, taking a 25 per cent investment in the club for £1.3 billion that will give him 'sporting control'.

It has been at least a month since that deal was agreed in principle, but Ratcliffe isn't yet in - minority - control at Old Trafford, with plenty of paperwork still to get through.

"The Glazer family is spending £250,000 a week in legal and consultancy fees in a bid to sell a share of Manchester United to Sir Jim Ratcliffe - more than they pay club captain Bruno Fernandes," reports Alex Miller for the Mail on Sunday.

Fernandes safe…

"Club accounts reveal that during the first seven months of the sale process, between November 2022 and June this year, United paid £7m in legal and associated fees."

Fernandes is arguably United's most important player, with 68 goals and 57 assists into his fourth season since joining from Sporting CP for €65m in January 2020.

But he is far from the highest paid, with Casemiro leading the way on £350,000 per week. Raphael Varane, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Mason Mount and Jadon Sancho split the Brazilian and Portuguese by that measure.

Fernandes is significantly safer than some of the above once Ratcliffe's starts to exert some of that sporting control.

Casemiro, Varane and Martial will all be allowed to leave the club in due course, with Casemiro fielding Saudi suitors and Varane wanted by Bayern Munich.

Sancho is expected to be the first out of the door in January having publicly fallen out with Erik ten Hag, meanwhile, with Juventus and Borussia Dortmund favourites to sign him - if initially on loan.