Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has claimed that the club “wanted me to go” after Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal reportedly made a £100m offer for the midfielder last summer.
The deal would have seen Fernandes play for the Saudi team in last summer’s Club World Cup, and while the Portuguese could have earned up to £700,000 per week, he rejected it after holding positive talks with manager Ruben Amorim.
However, Fernandes has revealed that he felt the club wanted him to make the move, explaining that “it gets to a point where, for them, money is more important than anything”.
“I could have left in the last transfer window, I would have earned much more money, I was going to leave a season ago – I won’t say where – but I would have won many trophies that season. I decided to stay, also because of family reasons, but because I genuinely love the club,” Fernandes told Canal 11, a channel owned by the Portuguese Football Federation.
“The conversation with the manager also made me stay. But from the club’s side, I felt a bit like, ‘if you leave, it’s not so bad for us.’ It hurts me a bit. More than hurting, it makes me sad because I’m a player who has nothing to criticise. I’m always available, I always play, good or bad. I give my all,” he explained.
“The club wanted me to go, I have that in my head. I told the directors this, but I think they didn’t have the courage to make that decision. If I had said I wanted to leave, they would have let me go,” he added.
Fernandes revealed that he spoke to “the president of Al Hilal” directly, with Portugal teammate Ruben Neves also getting in contact, though he was quick to highlight that money “was never what guided me”, and that he still holds a great deal of affection for his current club.
“I can’t complain, I’m very well paid, but obviously the difference is huge. That was never what guided me. If one day I have to play in Saudi Arabia, I’ll play in Saudi Arabia.
“I could have left like many people do and said: ‘I want to leave, I don’t want to train, I just want to leave for €20m or €30m, so they pay me more on the other side’. But I never did that. I never felt in a position to do that, because I felt that the empathy and affection I had for the club were the same,” he added.
United declined to comment on the interview, but it is understood that they do not agree with the captain’s version of events. Fernandes had previously stated that he “felt that I was still part of the plan”.
“The manager spoke with me. He said I was still part of the project. He wanted me to stay. The club said the same,” said the 31-year-old in October.
"I always said that if the club was like 'Bruno, we want to cash in, you are 30 years old. We want to make some money. We don't think you can be part of the future project' or whatever, I would be like, 'OK, I have to find a solution for myself, whatever is best for me and my family' and I will leave. Obviously, that wasn't the case,” he added at the time.
Fernandes, whose goal and assist in the 4-4 draw with Bournemouth on Monday took him to 103 goals and 93 assists in 307 appearances for the club, remains under contract at Old Trafford until 2027, with the club holding an option to extend the deal for a further year.
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