Bruno Fernandes' ex-referee wife went from paying for dates when he was broke to convincing him to snub £200m Saudi move
BRUNO FERNANDES admits wife Ana had a huge say on his decision to snub the Saudi Pro League.
The Portuguese star has turned down a £200million package from Al-Hilal to stay at Manchester United.
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Fernandes was a rare shining light in a dismal Old Trafford season last term.
And the skipper has turned down a fortune to stay in the North West.
Reports suggest Al Hilal offered to TRIPLE Fernandes' £250,000-a-week wages.
But with two years remaining on his United deal, he 30-year-old has decided to stay in Manchester.
Fernandes said: "There was that possibility [I could leave], the president of Al Hilal called me a month ago to ask.
'There was a waiting period on my part to think about what the future would hold. I would be open to it, if Manchester United felt it was my time.
"I spoke with [manager] Ruben Amorim, who really tried to talk me out of it.
"I spoke with the club, which wasn't willing to sell, only if I truly wanted to leave.
"We never talked about money - that was all handled by my agent, not me."
Fernandes and Ana are childhood sweethearts and met in their teens.
They married in 2015 and have two children together - Matilde, 7, and Goncalo, 4.
And he leaned on his rock for advice on whether to leave the Theatre of Dreams this summer.
Fernandes continued: "I spoke with my family to understand if that was what I wanted for my future.
"It was actually my wife who asked me - I never said yes or no.
"She put my professional priorities ahead of everything else."
During Fernandes' early days as a struggling player, he did not have the money to take his beau out on dates.
Ana funded their relationship by refereeing futsal matches on weekends.
And the United star credits her with getting them through the "tough times".
Fernandes said: "Ana has been with me on this ride since we were 16, 17, 18 years old.
"We met as teenagers, and when we first started dating, I wasn't making any money as a footballer.
"She had a nice job working as a futsal referee on the weekends.
'She used to do three or four matches in a row on a Saturday, and then we would always go to the cinema on Sundays.
'I personally didn't have much money at the time so Ana was the one who had to pay for our movie tickets.
"Same with going out to dinner. Even at the pizza shop, she had to pay."
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