Tottenham’s Bruno Fernandes bid rejected due to “difficult’ clauses”, says Sporting president

Sporting Lisbon have revealed that Tottenham Hotspur were the only club to make a serious offer for Bruno Fernandes in the summer, but the structure of the bid made it “difficult” to accept.

Fernandes ended up staying at Sporting despite being heavily linked with Spurs, Manchester United and Real Madrid throughout the summer.

Why did Sporting reject Spurs’ bid? Five things to know…

• Sporting president Frederico Varandas has revealed the details of Tottenham’s Bruno Fernandes bid.
• Spurs reportedly offered €45m plus €20m in bonus clauses.
• Those bonuses relied on Tottenham winning the Premier League and the Champions League.
• Varandas says the clauses made the offer “difficult” to accept.
• Sporting will now discuss a new contract with Fernandes.

Speaking to Sporting’s official website, club president Frederico Varandas has now claimed Sporting were prepared to sell Fernandes in the summer amid suggestions it was “impossible” to keep him.

But Varandas has revealed the Portuguese giants simply didn’t receive any suitable offers for the 24-year-old, with Tottenham attempting to include clauses relating to winning the Premier League and the Champions League.

He said: “We managed to maintain Sporting’s greatest sporting value, Bruno Fernandes. We were able to put it right and give greater balance and find solutions.

“So we think this group is more competitive, has more solutions and has more quality than last season.

“It was ‘impossible’ to retain Bruno Fernandes, but we did it.

“We prepared for his sale by putting a fair price on his worth, and we had bids. Tottenham’s was 45 million euros plus 20 million in bonuses – winning the Premier League and the Champions League. Finding these goals difficult, I understood not to accept.

“Bruno Fernandes proved to be not only a great player but a great professional and captain. The dignity and responsibility that he always held was exemplary.

“The day I turned down the Tottenham proposal, I came to the Academy and talked to him, told him why I declined and why he would stay here until the end of the market and he understood perfectly. In addition, he also realised that the value they gave to Sporting was not fair.”

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Sporting to ‘review’ Fernandes’ contract

Until recently, Fernandes reportedly had a £31m release clause in his contract, but Sporting were able to reject offers above that amount if they promised to pay the player £4.5m in compensation.

However, Varandas claims Fernandes will not receive the £4.5m (€5m) payment. Instead, a new contract will be discussed with the playmaker.

“His departure is not a problem, he is a Sporting player,” Varandas added. “He is a player desired by many European ‘sharks’ and we know this is a noise that we will always live with, but with that noise we can do well.

“Five million euros will not be paid. The contract will be reviewed, not because it was foreseen, but because he deserves it.”

Fernandes has admitted he was ready to join Spurs but accepts Sporting’s decision to dismiss unsuitable offers.

“As you all know, Tottenham made a lot of proposals for me. Everything was right with me – or practically should be,” Fernandes said.

“I never made any big demands, my manager was always dealing with the financials. It was and is my goal to play in England, Sporting know that, everyone knows that, and there were conditions for things to be done.

“But Sporting understood that the value was not enough and I have to respect the decision.”