Bruno Fernandes confirms he rejected Saudi move to stay at Man United
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has decided to stay at Old Trafford and reject a move to Saudi Arabia. PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON – Bruno Fernandes confirmed on June 3 he rejected a huge offer from Saudi Arabia to stay at Manchester United, saying he wanted to 'continue to play at the highest level'.
Speaking at a Portugal camp before their Nations League semi-final against Germany in Munich, he revealed he received an 'exciting offer' from Al Hilal but wanted to be part of Ruben Amorim's rebuild at Old Trafford.
Reports said Al Hilal were willing to pay United up to £100 million (S$174 million) for the 30-year-old.
'The president of Al Hilal called me and asked me if I wanted to move there,' Fernandes said.
'I talked to the gaffer (Amorim) and he asked me not to go. Man United said they didn't want to sell me. They said if I wanted to go I could but they didn't need the money.'
The midfielder also said a transfer would have been 'easy' with several Portuguese players already in Saudi Arabia, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves, but added: 'I want to play at the highest possible level.
'I want to play major competitions. I know I still can and I want to be happy doing the thing I love the most. This is how I see football and I'm passionate about football and this is the decision I've made.'
United endured their worst finish of the Premier League era, finishing 15th. They also lost the Europa League final to Tottenham.
Fernandes, who is United's captain, was one of the few players to emerge with credit from a disastrous season, scoring 19 goals and making 19 assists across all competitions.
Former United skipper Gary Neville, now a Sky Sports pundit, said the development was 'significant'.
'United getting that level of money, for someone of Bruno's age, obviously, you couldn't say that it would have been a bad deal,' he said.
'But, on the other hand, Manchester United's star player – only player at times – for the last four, five, six years, has been Bruno Fernandes. He's so important.
'To turn that money down (Fernandes was expected to earn a huge salary as well) at a point where Manchester United are at their lowest ebb and say, 'No, I want to fight through this, I want to come out and achieve things', I think it says a lot about him as a person, as a character.'
United are expected to be busy in the transfer market as Amorim reshapes his under-performing squad.
The club have already signed Brazil forward Matheus Cunha from Wolves and are being heavily linked with Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo.
Departures could include Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho. AFP
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