FIFA to investigate Fernandes transfer to Man United — Report

Manchester, May 6 (IANS): FIFA, world’s governing body for football, has launched an investigation after Italian side Sampdoria filed a complaint over the transfer of Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon. United roped in the Portuguese playmaker Fernandes for £47million in January.

But Serie A club Sampdoria have claimed that they are due a part of that fee, having negotiated a 10 per cent sell-on clause when selling Fernandes to Sporting in June 2017 for €8.5 million, as per a report in Manchester Evening News.

Going by that, Sporting were to pay Sampdoria around £4million after January’s deal that took Fernandes to English giants United. Since the amount has not been paid yet, the Italian club reached out to FIFA who will now look into the matter between Sampdoria and Sporting.

“We can confirm that on April 3, 2020 the Italian club, UC Sampdoria, lodged a claim with FIFA against the Portuguese club, Sporting Clube de Portugal, related to financial obligations set out in the contract corresponding to the transfer of the Portuguese player, Bruno Miguel Borges Fernandes,” a FIFA spokesperson was quoted as saying by manchestereveningnews.co.uk.

Since joining United in January, Fernandes has impressed at Old Trafford before the Premier League had to be stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Fernandes has recently revealed that Andres Iniesta has had a huge influence on his playing style and admitted his best attributes can still improve when compared to the Spanish star.

“The one I liked to watch and follow was Iniesta because Iniesta is a mix between an eight and a 10,” Bruno told Manchester United’s official website in a Q&A session on manutd.com.

“It is a way I can do better, between eight and 10.

“It is the guy who always likes to have the ball, who always likes to take the risks, and I think Iniesta was one of the best in the world. For me, it was impressive how Iniesta finished his career without the Ballon d’Or (award). With everything he won, it is difficult for me to understand!”