Chapter 475 Manchester United's Summer Signings

When referee Ma Zhe blew the whistle to end the game, fans scattered confetti in the stands of the St. Petersburg Stadium. They floated in the air, like colorful snowflakes, spinning and flying.

Under the sky full of confetti, the players of the Portuguese team were celebrating.

Head coach Santos was thrown high into the air by them, celebrating Portugal's second major championship trophy in two years.

When the live broadcast announced loudly that Bruno would be elected as the best player in the Confederations Cup final, the Portuguese fans in the audience once again burst into thunderous cheers.

All the players, coaching staff and staff gathered around Bruno to celebrate him winning this honor.

As the core player of champion Portugal, Bruno scored 6 goals in 4 games and won the Golden Boot Award. Especially, he scored twice in the crucial semi-finals and finals, which made his awards very convincing.

Bruno was also very excited. Although the Confederations Cup is not very influential, it is still a world championship after all. And if he remembers it well, this Confederations Cup will be the last one, and his Golden Boots and Golden Balls will be the final swan song of the Confederations Cup, which also gives his Golden Boots and Golden Balls some special meaning.

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As the Confederations Cup comes to an end, Bruno has officially begun his summer break.

Although the Manchester United team will assemble in early July to start preparing for the new season, due to FIFA requirements, players must rest for three consecutive weeks, which means that he can return to the team in late July, which is When Manchester United competed in the International Champions Cup in North America.

However, Bruno had no intention of taking a three-week vacation. He returned to Manchester on July 8, the first day of the Manchester United team's new season gathering, and appeared at the Carrington training base.

Mourinho is very satisfied with Bruno's early return to the team, which is very meaningful for his preparations. As the core of Manchester United's midfield, Bruno means so much to Manchester United. Without Bruno, many of his training sessions would not be possible.

Of course, if Bruno does not return to the team early, Mourinho has nothing to do. After all, FIFA has such regulations. Bruno has to take three weeks of leave, which is also his right.

But now that Bruno has returned early for the benefit of the team, Mourinho is naturally very happy.

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On July 9, local time in the United Kingdom, a piece of news shocked England: Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney transferred to Everton. The top scorer in the history of Manchester United for 13 years and the top scorer in England history. In his twilight years, he returned to the place where his dream began.

Although Rooney did not get many playing opportunities under Mourinho last season, no one thought that Rooney would leave Manchester United this summer.

After all, this meritorious captain of Manchester United is of great significance to Manchester United. Although his condition has declined rapidly in the past two years, his influence in the Manchester United locker room is still great.

However, in order to get more playing time and to qualify for next summer's World Cup in Russia, Rooney gave up his honor as Manchester United captain, gave up his high salary in Manchester United, and transferred to Everton.

In fact, during the winter transfer window, Everton made a transfer request to Manchester United to sign back Rooney, but Mourinho refused without hesitation. Rooney considered that Manchester United was in excellent form at the time and did not take the initiative to apply to leave.

However, what is different from the situation in another time and space is that Lukaku's transfer to Manchester United, which was related to Rooney's joining Manchester United, did not happen. Instead, Lukaku officially announced his joining Chelsea two days ago.

Return seems to have become one of the themes of the Premier League's summer transfer window.

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After everything was settled, Rooney said goodbye to Manchester United on his personal Instagram account. Rooney updated a photo of himself wearing a red Manchester United jersey and the captain's armband, and expressed his respect for Manchester United by saying 7 thank yous in a row.

Rooney wrote: "Thank you to everyone at Manchester United, thank you to the board for their support over the years, thank you to all the coaches I have played for, thank you to the staff I have worked with, thank you to the teammates I have played alongside. Finally, thank you to the incredible fans, I’m lucky enough to be able to fight for you guys, thanks for all the memories!”

Manchester United midfielder Herrera also updated his Instagram account with a photo with Rooney to pay tribute to Rooney. Herrera wrote: "One day in the future, I can tell my children that I fought alongside you. I wish you all the best, thank you, Rooney. Farewell to the legend."

Manchester United star Neville also posted: "Send my best wishes to Rooney and congratulate you on your great career at Manchester United. You are the best striker I have ever seen and worked with at the club."

Manchester United coach Mourinho said goodbye to Rooney in an interview on Manchester United's official website: "It's no secret. I have always been an admirer of Rooney. During his time at Manchester United, he was a role model for players and will leave his mark in the history of the club. "I hate to see such a great player not get enough playing time and he is asking to return to Everton. I will miss his experience, focus and determination and wish him all the best for the future."

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Rooney is not the only player to leave Manchester United this summer. Januzaj, a former Manchester United genius and a handsome Belgian player known as "Jia Baoyu" among fans, followed Rooney's footsteps and left the Carrington training base to go to Real Sociedad in La Liga.

These two transfers did not bring much income to Manchester United. According to media estimates, Rooney's return to Everton only brought Manchester United a transfer fee of 5 million pounds, which was just a symbolic payment. And Januzaj only brought Manchester United 7.5 million pounds in transfer income.

These two transfers are not even as much as Manchester United's first transfer expenditure in June, which was the Swedish defender Lindelof introduced from Benfica in the Portuguese Super League.

Manchester United spent 31 million pounds to get Ibrahimovic's national team teammate.

The second player introduced by Manchester United in this summer transfer window was also negotiated before the summer transfer window officially opened. That is, the Portuguese defender Cancelo was introduced from Bruno's old club Udinese. This transfer cost Manchester United 25 million pounds.

However, Cancelo has not yet reported to Manchester United. This somewhat lazy guy is not as conscious as Bruno to work overtime. He decided to take a full three weeks of mandatory vacation first.

Originally, Manchester United's first choice for right-back was Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker, but Manchester United encountered competition from Manchester City, and Tottenham also tended to sell Walker to Manchester City, so Manchester United eventually lost in the competition with Manchester City and had to turn around and sign Cancelo.

And Kyle Walker, the best right-back in the Premier League last season, eventually transferred to the Blue Moon Manchester City at a sky-high price of 45 million pounds.

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The signing of players in the back line is not the main direction of Manchester United in this summer transfer window, because for Manchester United, the back line is not the most lacking place.

The most lacking in the three-way line of Manchester United is the striker. With Rooney's transfer away and Ibrahimovic still seriously injured and not returning, Manchester United's only striker on the front line is the young Rashford!

People like Bruno, Lingard, and Mata can play as strikers, but that is not their best position.

Therefore, Manchester United's most important task this summer is to strengthen or even rebuild the striker!

Mourinho originally intended to sign Lukaku, Everton striker, who won the Premier League Bronze Boot last season, but Walsh, Everton director who has a close personal relationship with Mourinho, told Magic Bird that Lukaku is a giant baby who will never grow up.

However, Mourinho at this time obviously did not realize the huge problem with Lukaku. Or, Uncle Bird may feel that he can change Lukaku, and he still wants to recruit Lukaku.

However, after Bruno and him had a telephone conversation, Mourinho finally decided to give up the introduction of Lukaku, which enabled Chelsea to successfully sign back the Belgian striker.

Another target of Manchester United's signings is Harry Kane, the Premier League Silver Boot last season.

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If it were in the past, Tottenham would definitely reject Manchester United's offer without hesitation, because the two teams had a very unhappy relationship because of Berbatov's transfer.

Originally, the relationship between Manchester United and Tottenham was very good. Ten years ago, the two sides had many personnel exchanges. For example, Carrick was introduced by Manchester United from Tottenham.

However, because of Berbatov, the relationship between the two teams deteriorated sharply. Tottenham rejected Modric and Bale's requests to transfer to Manchester United in the past few years.

However, with the change of ownership of Manchester United, although the previous grievances have not completely disappeared, they have finally faded a little.

Of course, it is mainly because Manchester United gave too much, which made it difficult for Tottenham to refuse.

The first formal offer made by Manchester United to Tottenham was as high as 100 million pounds!

Because of the construction of the new White Hart Lane Stadium, Tottenham is very short of money at the moment. Although Kane plays a very important role in Tottenham, it is difficult for Tottenham to say no to the temptation of heavy money.

After all, Modric and Bale, the two core players of Tottenham, left Tottenham one after another and joined Real Madrid.

However, such a heavyweight transfer is definitely not something that can be done in a short period of time. The two teams will definitely have a long, even protracted tug-of-war.

Even whether Manchester United can finally bring in Harry Kane this summer is still unknown.

After all, in the competition for Kyle Walker, Tottenham chose to say no to Manchester United and sold him to Manchester City instead.

Who knows if Tottenham will make such a choice again if a strong competitor emerges in the competition for Kane?