Manchester United’s pursuit of Brentford attacker Bryan Mbeumo has appeared to be incredibly pricey as the Bees determined he should cost the same as Matheus Cunha.
United paid a reported £62.5 million for the Wolverhampton Wanderers star, who was by many accounts the best attacking player in the Premier League last season and appears to be an ideal tactical fit for Ruben Amorim’s intentions at Old Trafford.
But Mbeumo also had a fantastic season and is just as crucial to Brentford as the Brazilian was to Wolves.
According to reports, the Red Devils realise his value and their interest is as strong as ever, but the massive transfer cost is only one aspect of the financial picture when it comes to major Premier League transactions.
Cameroonian international Mbeumo will reportedly earn roughly £150,000 per week at United, which is similar to the pay agreed upon by Cunha.
That’s a fantastic package, but it’s also a significant drop from previous reports that he was asking up to £250,000 per week to relocate from West London.
Such a sum would have tripled his Brentford salary, but asking for £250,000 a week would be an excellent strategy for a player looking to earn £150,000 from a new club.
Nonetheless, the larger amount drew attention from fans and was widely mocked on social media, where derision is the natural currency.
Now it appears that the truth might be closer to market value. United fans on X, formerly Twitter, have reacted angrily to the media and fans of other clubs who said Mbeumo would be overpaid.
“Damn the press will hate that,” remarked one comma-dodger.
“Newcastle fans were saying he’s on 300k a week,” said another fan.
“Arsenal fans told me he’s going to earn £250k,” stated one fan, blaming the poor Gooners for the widely reported figure.
Everyone is a comic, so rhetorical exaggeration was unavoidable.
“But I heard from every rival fan that he’s asking for 600k a flat, a new Ferrari, and a girlfriend to join Man United,” laughed Football Twitter’s equivalent of Stewart Lee.
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