Bruno Fernandes has been set a deadline of next week to decide if he wants to leave Manchester United and sign a £200million deal with Al-Hilal.
The Saudi Arabian club want an answer by the end of May and are increasingly hopeful that Fernandes can be persuaded to walk away from Old Trafford.
They are ready to offer United a transfer fee of around £100m if Fernandes accepts a three-year contract worth a basic £700,000-a-week and up to £65m-a-season including signing-on fee and bonuses.
United sources have re-iterated that they do not want to sell their captain and best player, but the club are under even greater financial pressure after defeat to Tottenham in Wednesday's Europa League final cost them £100m in Champions League revenue.
Fernandes admitted after the game that he could be sold to balance the books, saying: 'If the club thinks it's time to part ways because they want to do some cashing in, it is what it is.'
Al-Hilal want to have a marquee player in place for the Club World Cup next month. It's understood that they will table a final offer to Fernandes in the coming days and give him just 72 hours to respond before switching to other targets.
Although the 30-year-old is happy at United, the prospect of a season out of Europe – with a 25 per cent wage reduction – and no guarantees that the club can progress quickly under Ruben Amorim may convince him to accept the mega-money deal.
It's likely that Fernandes could also keep his place in the Portugal national team, as Cristiano Ronaldo did after leaving United and signing for Al-Nassr in 2022.
The situation highlights the problems facing United after a desperately disappointing season. They must also pay a £10m penalty to sponsors Adidas after missing out on the Champions League, and will lose millions more in Premier League merit payments by finishing the season in 16th or 17th place on Sunday.
Almost every player is for sale at the right price this summer as Amorim begins to reshape his squad.
Alejandro Garnacho is seeking talks over his future after being left on the bench for much of the final in Bilbao. United rejected an offer for Garnacho from Napoli in January but may be tempted by bids of between £60-70m.
Marcus Rashford is available for £40m after ending the season on loan at Aston Villa, and could be a target for Barcelona after the Catalan club's sporting director Deco registered their interest.
It's believed that United would listen to offers of between £25-30m for Rasmus Hojlund who cost £72m when he moved from Atalanta in 2023. A move back to Italy has been mooted for the Dane, with Inter Milan and Napoli said to be monitoring his situation.
Antony, a £86m signing from Ajax, would probably be available for as little as £25m. The Brazil winger has done well on loan at Real Betis who are interested in making the deal permanent.
Jadon Sancho is expected to return to Old Trafford if Chelsea pay a £5m penalty for not going through with an obligation to sign him for £25m at the end of his loan.
United owe Borussia Dortmund another £17m instalment on Sancho's £73m fee this summer and could feasibly do a deal with the Germans. They may also explore the Italian market but his £275,000-a-week wages will be a stumbling block.
Christian Eriksen, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans will leave as free agents, and United are expected to free up more space on the wage bill by selling fringe players such as Altay Bayindir and Tyrell Malacia.
However, there is an acceptance that Casemiro will stay for the remaining year of his £375,000-a-week contract following unsuccessful attempts to find a buyer for the Brazilian.