Manchester United are set to receive a welcome financial windfall this summer as Real Madrid draw close to agreeing a deal to sign former Red Devil Alvaro Carreras, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Carreras, 22, swapped England for Portugal last year to join Benfica in a deal worth an initial £5 million with a further £2.5 million in add-ons.
The left-back had spent the second half of the season on loan with As Águias with an obligation clause included if he played more than 50% of games.
A £16 million buy-back clause was included in the deal as well as a sell-on percentage believed to be worth around 40%. A release clause was set by Benfica at £42 million for their new defensive jewel.
Carreras has gone from strength to strength at the Estádio da Luz with an impressive campaign for his new club.
And this form has caught the attention of La Liga’s biggest club – Real Madrid – who are prioritising a move for the young Spaniard this summer to upgrade the left-hand side of their defence ahead of Xabi Alonso’s arrival from Bayer Leverkusen.
A cynical approach had been suggested for Los Blancos, however, who were reported to be interested in involving United in their raid for Carreras.
The report suggested the Red Devils would exercise their buy-back option – worth around £16 million – to then immediately sell Carreras to Madrid for a fee as high as £30 million, gifting the Reds with a profit somewhere in the region of £14 million.
But, speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano rejected this prospective deal, instead revealing Carreras “wants to go to Real Madrid” with executives from the Santiago Bernabeu close to agreeing personal terms with the defender.
“We can say that the contract of the player is almost ready, so the agreement on personal terms between Real Madrid and Alvaro Carreras is almost ready and almost done.”
However, the Italian transfer guru contends a move will only happen after the Taça de Portugal final between Benfica and Sporting this weekend. After this, Carreras will be “clear with Benfica and tell them that his desire is to go to Real Madrid.”
Similarly, the Spanish club are “respecting” their Portuguese counterparts by not officially targeting one of their key players before an important final, Romano states.
Romano concludes by asserting United have “no intention” of activating their buy-back clause for Carreras despite considering the 22-year-old as an option in January, before ultimately settling on Patrick Dorgu from Lecce.
But if Madrid agree a deal with Benfica to sign Carreras, the Red Devils will receive a considerable portion of the profits from the deal ahead of an important transfer window at Old Trafford where every penny will count.
Feature image Carlos Rodrigues via Getty Images
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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.
