Newcastle United chief casts uncertainty over Bruno Guimaraes contract clause after £100m Liverpool claim

Bruno Guimaraes recently signed a new five-year deal at Newcastle United which is understood to have included a release clause.

The value of the release clause is reported to be in the region of £100million. Guimaraes has been a key player for Newcastle since joining the club from Lyon for £40million in January 2022 and has attracted interest from the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool.

Given the rate at which player values are increasing in the transfer, Guimaraes' £100million release clause could soon start to look very appealing over the course of his five-year contract.

But Magpies sporting director Dan Ashworth wouldn't clarify the specifics of the 27-year-old's deal.

"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 said. "They're all private and confidential."

Spanish outlet SPORT also claimed that Guimaraes has a 'secret' club-specific release clause for Barcelona of just £60million. While those claims are understood to be wide of the mark, Ashworth did go on to explain how release clauses can be far more complicated than just one set fee.

"I can tell you about the principles of release clauses and you can have a situation where a player may have a dream country or club that they want to play for and you can make it specific to them, you can make it specific that it can sit outside of your competitors in the Premier League," Ashworth added.

"Sometimes players view the fact that they're happy to sign a long-term contract but if family situations change they may want to experience something different.

"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."

While Ashworth would not explicitly confirm whether Guimaraes' reported £100million release clause excludes rival Premier League clubs, AS in Spain claimed that Liverpool had bid of that value knocked back by Newcastle in the summer.

Following confirmation of his new contract at Newcastle, Guimaraes told the club website: “I’m absolutely delighted. The fans have made me feel at home since my first day here and I feel so loved in my life.

“I’m so happy here. It’s a place that is so comfortable to be and I hope to keep making the supporters happy and helping the team do well. That’s my goal, because there are no words to describe how happy I am to be here.

“I remember in my first interview, I said I wanted to play for this club in the Champions League and now it’s happening.

“The city believes again and it’s unbelievable what we have done for the team. I hope that this can continue. It’s amazing what has happened in my life in the last two years.”

The Brazilian is set to return to the Newcastle side this weekend after serving a one-match suspension prior to the international break. The Magpies host Chelsea at St James' Park on Saturday (3pm kick-off).