BRUNO FERNANDES played in the Lisbon derby last night as his move to Manchester United stalled.
Fernandes, 25, started as Sporting Lisbon took on Benfica, with fans fearing it could be the last time they see him.
Man Utd’s move for Fernandes has stalled in a dispute over bonus payments
United are trying to rush through a deal for the midfielder which would see them pay Sporting £34million, with a further £25.5m in add-ons.
But the Portuguese club fear they would get nowhere near the full £60m package because so many payments are linked to achievements that are unlikely to happen.
Among those are United winning the Premier League and the Champions League.
Another add-on laid down by United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is a payment if Fernandes wins the Ballon d’Or.
Sporting fear United are so far behind in terms of squad strength there is only a small chance they will win anything during Fernandes’ contract.
Instead they want United to increase their down-payment to guarantee they get closer to receiving their full valuation.
One of the problems Sporting – who are said to be closing in on a deal for Fernandes’ replacement – have is because they borrowed against the sale of Fernandes last summer, technically they are only due to clear around 50 per cent of any fee.
United were hoping to drive Sporting’s price down, knowing they are in need of money.
But they are finding the Portuguese firm in their belief that they will not be forced to sell on the cheap.
A total package of £60m will be enough to get the deal over the line.
But it now all comes down to United being prepared to guarantee a bigger chunk of the money.
Fernandes is expected to receive wages of around £120,000 a week at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes shows off some of his football skills in training routine
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
