Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth has refused to discuss the specifics of Bruno Guimaraes’ new contract.
The Brazil international signed a new five-year contract at St James’ Park last month, with a release clause worth more than £100 million.
However, Ashworth did not confirm or deny this before speaking broadly about what a potential release clause might entail.
“I’m not going to confirm whether there is or isn’t any release clauses in Bruno or any other of our player’s contracts,” Ashworth went on to say. “Everything is private and confidential.”
“I can tell you about the principles of release clauses, and you can have a situation where a player has a dream country or club that they want to play for, and you can tailor it to them, and you can tailor it so that it sits outside of your Premier League competitors.”
“Sometimes players see themselves as happy to sign a long-term contract, but if their family situations change, they may want to try something new.”
“It’s not always just about the players wanting an exit and this is where we want to go for the exit, there’s lots of different reasons that releases happen and can be put into contracts.”
The Magpies beat out Arsenal to sign the 26-year-old from Lyon in January 2022, and his time on Tyneside has coincided with the club’s remarkable journey thus far.
Under Eddie Howe, Newcastle has gone from battling relegation to qualifying for the Champions League in less than two years, and Guimaraes has been credited with a significant role.
As a result, Guimaraes has piqued the interest of Liverpool, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain, and he revealed last year that he had ‘a conversation’ with Real Madrid.
Despite this, the midfielder recently extended his contract with Newcastle until 2028.
“I’m so happy to be here,” he exclaimed. “It’s a great place to be, and I hope to keep making the fans happy and helping the team succeed.” That’s my aim, because there are no words to express how grateful I am to be here.
“I remember saying in my first interview that I wanted to play in the Champions League for this club, and now it’s happening.” We’re doing fantastic, and I’m so proud of my teammates when I look around the field. I’m proud of everyone involved, including the team, the staff, the owners, and the fans.
“The city believes in us again, and it’s incredible what we’ve done for the team.” I hope this trend continues. What has happened in my life in the last two years is incredible.”
Guimaraes has appeared in 74 games for Newcastle, scoring 11 goals and assisting on eight others.
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