Bruno Fernandes being extended is one of the most obvious things the club had to do going forward. That we legitimately have posters here not playing april fools is outright depressing.
"What is the point of re-signing him, he was under contract"
Well first of all, if you want to keep your staff happy, wagging the middle finger and pointing to the contract like some kind of gilded "gotcha" is not the way to go about it. Over the sum of his career here, Bruno Fernandes is by far and wide the most important individual player we have. Bruno is 27. The new contract will keep him at the club until he is 32. This is the last huge-money long-term contract Bruno will sign. He is looking at a 2-3 year contract at most after this.
The club obviously want Bruno to stay here for the remaining part of his high-performance career. Extending him now ensures that he is under contract for the remaining years of his most productive period, and more importantly: His wage is reflective of his status in the team.
KDB earn more than twice the salary Bruno does. Jadon Sancho earn significantly more than Bruno does. Harry Maguire earn significantly more than Bruno Fernandes does. The man is underpaid in our hierarchy.
KDB play in a significantly more successful team, but the player himself has not been that more productive than Bruno has. The importance to their respective teams are equal.
Politics does play a significant part in the huge football clubs. Manchester United chose to flaunt financial muscles during the covid-19 pandemic and chose to keep paying full player wages and keep staff on. The players themselves chose to donate part of their salaries to charity. To keep Bruno on his current contract is a bad look for the club front-office, as it displays a lack of "respect for the players accomplishments" compared to other high earners.
The contract extension signifies that Bruno Fernandes is one of the clubs absolute flagship players. Its a move to keep the player happy and motivated as well as signify outwardly that the club backs Bruno as "their guy" both to the public but also in the squad hierarchy. Its an expensive version of "keeping up appearances" if Hyacinth had access to Richards bottomless platinum creditcard.
What if we just wait until his final contract year to re-sign him?
At that point a few things could conceivably have happened:
1. The player does not feel the club appreciates his contributions on the pitch. At which point he will not sign a new contract and will look to run the current one down and sign for a new club, like Real Madrid.
2. Same as 1. Except the player openly wants a new challenge as the club does not wish to extend his contract on the players wishes, and openly seeks a new challenge. Any time a player is open about wanting a new move, a LOT of noise comes hurdling in and it causes enormous disruptions in the club. Paul Pogba said as much during a sponsor press conference with Adidas and everyone lost their collective minds for months. Now imagine a player who is significantly more successful individually for the club doing the same. It wont just be an upset, it will downright hurt.
3. The player enters his final contract year and the conversation about Bruno Fernandes new contract, or lack of it, is the only talking point for months.
4. Players are normal people with fancy jobs. They think the same way you or I do about everyday problems. A unsolved issue relating to your near future is certainly going to cause a distraction.
5. The player understands and respects the clubs decision and is happy to wait until his final year to negotiate a new deal. I will add this here for the sake of fairness, but this is not a realistic option. Bruno was nominated for the Ballon D'or. His salary status in the club is not representative of his contribution.
With regards to the re-signing of players already under contract: This is what big clubs do. Again with the politics of relevant contribution and hierarchy status.
"Why are we re-signing him, he hasnt won anything"
I dont know how to respond to this.. what?