Manchester United retain a 20% sell-on clause for Alvaro Carreras on any future deal worth in excess of the £5 million Benfica paid to sign the Carrington graduate last year, according to a report.
Carreras, 22, joined the Portuguese side in January 2024 on a six-month loan which included a buy obligation if the Spaniard played at least 50% of the Eagles’ matches, which he did after impressing Benfica’s coaching staff.
This triggered the obligation clause and the Portuguese giant signed Carreras on a permanent deal the following summer worth £5 million with £2.5 million in potential add-ons.
It has proven an astute decision for Carreras as he has firmly established himself as one of the best fullbacks in Liga Portugal this season.
United were even linked with a move to re-sign the 22-year-old in January, as they included a buy-back option worth around £15 million and were on the hunt for a new left wing-back to reinforce Ruben Amorim’s system.
Carreras was not believed to be open to a return to England, however, with some doubts over the Spanish defender’s physicality and pace within the rigours of English football. Lecce wing-back Patrick Dorgu was signed instead in a deal worth an initial £25 million.
But United could still benefit from their former starlet, who spent three years in Real Madrid’s academy before switching to Old Trafford in 2020, as Los Blancos have identified Carreras as a key target this summer.
Madrid have made advances to bring the Spaniard back to the Santiago Bernabeu with Benfica demanding the 22-year-old’s release clause – worth €50 million (£42m) – be met to sanction his departure from the Estádio da Luz this summer.
Along with their buy-back option, United also included a sell-on clause in Benfica’s deal to sign Carreras. Initially, reports had suggested this was worth around 40%, as this translated to roughly the same price as the buy-back option if the fullback was sold for his release clause.
However, Guillermo Rai (The Athletic) reveals it is in fact worth just “worth 20 per cent of any fee above the £5m the Portuguese club bought him for.” This means if Madrid trigger Carreras’ release clause this summer, United will stand to make a profit worth around £8.4 million.
As explained by The Peoples Person here, reports from Spain had suggested Old Trafford officials could look to exercise their buy-back option – costing around £15 million – to then immediately sell Carreras to Madrid for a price cheaper than his release clause at Benfica.
If a deal was struck with the Liga giant for £35 million, saving them £7 million, United would bank a £20 million profit, rather than the £8.4 million windfall they will receive at present.
However, this would be an extremely hostile tactic by United which is rarely exercised and would destroy relations with Benfica, a club who the Mancunian side have an historically good relationship with.
Similarly, Benfica would become incentivised to just accept an offer from Madrid worth less than whatever price United would sell for, and a reverse bidding war of sorts would unfold. And this would achieve virtually nothing for any interested party, outside of Madrid.
The Athletic’s report reveals sources at Old Trafford have “played down [the] prospect” of United triggering their buy-back option, suggesting the club neither wants to add Carreras to Amorim’s squad nor engage in any shady deals with their Bernabeu counterparts.
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
