Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha both turned down offers to join clubs playing in this season’s UEFA Champions League to sign for Manchester United, says head coach Ruben Amorim.
The boss discussed United’s current approach to the transfer market while in conversation with club media after training at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Ruben and the squad flew to New Jersey later on Friday ahead of our first game in the USA since arriving on Wednesday.
Fans, players and staff were delighted to see Mbeumo complete his transfer from Brentford in time to come on Tour 2025, presented by Snapdragon, and have the opportunity to gel with his new team-mates. Cunha, meanwhile, signed early on in the window, and both players had reported interest from a number of top clubs, thanks to their stellar performances in 2024/25.
“Cunha and Bryan, they had different solutions [offers],”
Ruben told us.
“They had Champions League offers. And they wanted to come here. People that say that they come here because of the money… that is a lie. That I know for sure. So, I’m really happy with that.
“That is the key point. They have to want to come here. I think what we can do to the fans is that we want players who have proved [themselves] already. Sometimes you have a player with a lot of potential, you have to be aware of that, but all the players that are coming, we need to know the player. We need to talk to the player, we have to explain the project.
“And then one really important thing is that they want to come here. That is the key point. If during the market we can find someone that can help the team and have all that boxes with them, we are going to do it. If not, we cannot do it because it's an important time in our club.”
Ruben has clearly been impressed with how the two new signings have settled in at United.
“The first thing is that they are really humble,” he said.
“They know how to get inside one group, so they don't feel like they are the stars. They are team players at the same time, but it's not just what they give to the team, it's the way they make good team-mates. So they are improving this team in every aspect.
“They are feeling at home, that is my feeling. We are bonding. At the same time, we are putting our ideas, working on the physical aspect of the game, so everything is going well.”
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