Man Utd Are Keen On Signing 30-Cap International With £87M Release Clause

BACK David Tully Apr 16th 2026 Man Utd are one of several clubs who are big fans of Benfica midfielder Richard Rios, according to reports. AS Colombia claims that the Red Devils, Fulham, Roma, Napoli and Inter Milan are all tracking the player ahead of the summer transfer window. Rios is a holding midfield player by trade, having signed from Brazilian side Palmeiras for €27m last summer. When he made the move to Portugal, he put pen to paper on a contract which included a €100m (£87m) release clause. Rios’s stock could rise after the World Cup The 25-year-old has been capped 30 times by Colombia, and he is expected to play a key role for his country this summer. If Colombia do make it through their group, which includes Portugal, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uzbekistan, and progress to the knockout rounds, Rios’s reputation will undoubtedly increase further. At club level, his first season with Benfica has been somewhat of a mixed bag, but his manager, Jose Mourinho, rates him highly, having started him on a regular basis when fit in recent months. Man Utd have prioritised other midfield targets While Rios may well be on the radar of Director of Football Jason Wilcox, it seems unlikely that the Colombian international is deemed a top option to reinforce the first-team squad in the middle of the park. The likes of Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Sandro Tonali, Angelo Stiller, Carlos Baleba and Joao Gomes are said to be top targets. However, it must be pointed out that budgetary constraints may force United into signing cheaper alternatives, especially if they want to bring in more than one midfielder, as some reports suggest. Whether Rios would actually be available for a low price seems debatable in any case, considering how much Benfica paid for him last year. Want more news on Man Utd? Add Man U News as a preferred source on Google David Tully David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network.