Intermedaries ‘spoken to’: Long-linked United target turns down contract offer, his club now want January sale

Ruben Neves has rebuffed a final contract offer from Al-Hilal, prompting the club to begin pushing for a mid-season sale.Indeed, the midfielder is uninterested in committing his long-term future to the Saudi Arabian outfit and is now prepared to see out the remainder of his deal, which expires in June 2026, before pulling the curtains on his three-year Al-Hilal tenure.Ruben Neves: The state of play(Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)That’s unless an agreement can be struck next month to offload Neves, ensuring they recuperate at least some fee from the player’s departure after shelling out £47 million for him two years ago.The move saw Neves depart the Premier League following five seasons with Wolverhampton Wanderers, and he had played an integral role at Molineux in each campaign, ending his stint as captain of the Black Country outfit.Manchester United were also said to be amongst the Portugal star’s admirers, although they never materialised their interest by submitting a bid. Then, when the Saudi side came knocking with a lucrative financial offer, the Red Devils opted against rivalling the proposal by presenting one of their own.Even though Neves has been playing outside of Europe for two terms, he is still a mainstay in the Portugal setup alongside Bruno Fernandes, and he’ll be looking to add to his 63 caps when Roberto Martinez’s team heads to the States for next year’s World Cup.United contacted over potential Neves coup(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)By that time, there is a chance that the 28-year-old will be a United player.TeamTalk claims that, after Al-Hilal were made aware that he won’t be signing a new contract, they approached the Reds and Newcastle United to check whether the clubs retained their interest in Neves. Al-Hilal have failed to convince Ruben Neves to sign a new deal and now they are open to him moving back to Europe, possibly in January, @TEAMtalk understands. Long-term suitors Man United and Newcastle remain keen and been spoken to by intermediaries.https://t.co/tE1YWdVTnC — Graeme Bailey (@GraemeBailey) December 17, 2025Intermedaries were ‘spoken to’, meaning the door could well and truly be open for the experienced star to finally make the switch to M16.