Manchester United captain, Bruno Fernandes, has revealed he turned down a lucrative move to Al Hilal last summer because he believed he still had unfinished business at Manchester United.
Speaking to Wayne Rooney on The Wayne Rooney Show, the Portugal international said he chose to remain at Old Trafford after discussions with his family, despite a major financial offer from Saudi Arabia.
“I stayed because I thought I still had something that I could give back to the club,” said Fernandes. “Obviously the Saudi situation, with the money… There was a lot. The good thing I have in my family is that my wife is pretty down to earth like me.
“We’re very aware that we don’t want to be the richest person in the world. We just want to be the ones who have achieved the dreams they had and live a good life with their kids and try to be as successful as possible.
“The words of my wife were like, ‘Have you achieved your dreams? Have you achieved everything you wanted?’
“And that small thing she said made me understand that she’s on the same page as me. Let’s keep trying and see where this takes me.”
Fernandes admitted he did not want to leave United following the club’s 15th-place finish last season, their worst campaign since the 1973-74 relegation year.
“I didn’t want to leave the club at the point where we were struggling,” he said.
The 31-year-old’s future remains uncertain with a year left on his contract, although his performances this season are expected to prompt discussions over a new deal, despite cost-cutting efforts led by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Fernandes has scored 106 goals in 322 appearances since joining United in 2020, winning the FA Cup and League Cup. He said his ambitions remain focused on the biggest honours.
He said, “I want to win the Premier League. I want to win the Champions League. I never hide from that.”
Former United captain Rooney also backed Fernandes for the season’s top individual awards. Fernandes acknowledged competition from Declan Rice and Gabriel Magalhães of Arsenal.
“It’s a huge privilege to be in the conversation,” Fernandes said. “You can say as many times as you want that you want to win trophies collectively. That is true. But these individual accolades are always nice on the personal side.
“It is players voting for you. That has a different impact because you have been playing against them. If they recognise you as one of the best in the league, it’s a huge privilege.”
