Man Utd have hidden transfer advantage over Arsenal for Cunha

Matheus Cunha “loves Man Utd”. That’s the quote fed to the media, presumably by his agent. So we fully expect Matheus Cunha to join Manchester United this summer, which would be something of a coup. And would inevitably befuddle the minds of the easily confused.

Some will simplistically point at a Premier League table and archly declare – as if nobody else had noticed – that Wolves and Manchester United are on the same points actually, and also that they are way, way below Arsenal, Aston Villa and any other potential suitors.

Others will say he has ‘only joined Manchester United for the money’ and post images of falling wads of cash on social media, ignoring any and all evidence that United are offering no greater wage than any other Big Six club.

But check Cunha’s age – he’s 25 – and clock that he turned 10 the summer after United had won their third consecutive Premier League title, reached the Champions League final and had a fella called Cristiano Ronaldo on their team. Of course he “loves Man Utd”.

When Manchester United wheeled out Sir Alex Ferguson and Bryan Robson (who had last played for United a decade before he was born) in 2020, the “this is Manchester United Football Club we are talking about” charm offensive fell flat on Jude Bellingham, who turned 10 just as David Moyes was replacing Ferguson and the Banter Era was kicking off.

But Cunha? He will absolutely believe United are one of the biggest clubs in the world – not measured by market share or ‘reach’, but because he has grown up watching one of the actual best football teams in the world. As a child in north-eastern Brazil, he would have dreamed of one day playing at Old Trafford and wearing red; as a 25-year-old in the Midlands, he will still hold the glowing remnants of that dream. It’s human nature.

Manchester United do still have that lure. But perhaps only to players like Cunha or Victor Osimhen, who are old enough to have grown up thinking that they are the pinnacle of success. How long does that sheen last? The red wasn’t shiny enough for Bellingham, who wisely chose Borussia Dortmund as the likeliest route to Real Madrid. Surely Cunha belongs to the very last generation of players who look at Old Trafford and see the Theatre of Dreams and not a crumbling circus.

Modern Premier League clubs/businesses tend to focus almost exclusively on young talent with both potential and sell-on value but United’s short-term quest to re-join the elite based on something other than heritage might well lie with those players who still see them as something extraordinary.

The issue for United is that those players are thinning out as quickly as their replica shirts on the streets of England; as kids in 2025 wear snide PSG tops, Real Madrid shorts and Bayern Munich socks, there are few 10-year-olds who see the team 14th in the Premier League table as part of the elite; those who support them have generally been handed an inheritance of misery by their parents. So in 10 years’ time, will 23-year-old footballers really choose this version of United when given the option?

For now, Cunha is as close to a no-brainer – he fits the system, he has creativity and personality in abundance – as reliable goalscorer Osimhen as a signing for Manchester United this summer, but United are far from a no-brainer for a footballer who can have his pick of top-half clubs.

Now it’s his job – along with his likely new teammates – to make Manchester United more than a museum tour.

Click here to read article