Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandez confirms he has rejected the Saudi big name move to stay at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandez rejected a big offer from Saudi Arabia and confirmed that he chose to stay with Manchester United instead, saying he “want to continue playing at the highest level.”
The football midfielder spoke to the media at a Portuguese camp in Munich’s facing Germany ahead of the Nations League semi-finals on Wednesday, receiving a “exciting offer” from Alhiral, but confirmed he wanted to be part of manager Reuben Amorim at Old Trafford.
According to the report, Al-Hilal said he would be willing to pay United up to £100 million ($135 million) to the 30-year-old Portugal International.
“The president of Al Hilal called me and asked me if I wanted to move there,” Fernandez confirmed, and the club said “waiting to think about my future.”
“I spoke to Gaffer and he asked me not to go,” Fernandez revealed, “Man United said he didn’t want to sell me.
“They said I wanted to go, I could, but they didn’t need the money.”
The player said that several Portuguese players already had “easy” in Saudi Arabia, including Cristiano Ronaldo, João Cancero and Reuben Neves, but added that he “want to play at the highest possible level.”
“I want to compete on a large scale. I still know I can do it, and I want to be happy by doing what I love the most.
“For better or worse, this is how I watch football, I’m passionate about football, and this is the decision I made.”
Man United “Nices” Fernandez
United endured the worst finish of their Premier League years and finished in 15th place. They also lost the Europa League final to Tottenham.
United captain Fernandez is one of the few players to earn credits from a disastrous season, scoring 19 goals and 19 assists in all competitions.
Former United captain Gary Neville, now a Sky Sports critic, said the development was “important.”
“I think there was a factor in this situation that meant United would get that level of money for someone Bruno.
“But on the other hand, Manchester United star players – sometimes only players – have been Bruno Fernandez for the past four, five, six years. He’s very important.”
Neville added: “At the time Manchester United were in their worst decline, he defeated that money and said, ‘No, I want to fight through this, I want to see it on the other side, I want to come out and achieve things.”
“The club needs someone trying to run through a brick wall.”
United is expected to be busy in the transfer market as Amorim reshapes his poorly performed team.
The club has already signed wolf Brazilian forward Matthews Cunha, and is heavily tied to Brentford forward Brian Mbemo.
Departures include Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho.
Fernandez has made 290 appearances since his £47 million ($63 million) journey from Sports Lisbon in January 2020, scoring 98 goals for United.
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