‘I was still part of the plan’ – Fernandes on rejecting Saudi advances and staying with United
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Bruno Fernandes has explained why he rejected an offer to join the Saudi Pro League in pursuit of Premier League and Champions League glory with Manchester United.
The midfielder was given the chance to join Al Hilal in the summer, and was reportedly offered a contract worth £1 million a week.
It is understood that United would have received a fee which could have reached £100m, exceeding the £89m Real Madrid paid to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.
However, the United skipper revealed how post-season talks with head coach Ruben Amorim were integral in his decision to stay at the club.
“So the manager spoke with me. He said I was still part of the project. He wanted me to stay. The club said the same,” Fernandes told the Telegraph.
“And 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’ I would have to find a solution for myself, whatever is best for me and my family. And I would leave. But obviously, that wasn’t the case.
“I felt that I was still part of the plan, that I could still help the club to achieve whatever our aims were. And that’s what made me stay.”
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The midfielder also had conversations with sporting director Jason Wilcox and chief executive Omar Berrada, who confirmed that the focus was investing in new signings rather than selling their prized assets.
This was backed up by Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Senne Lammens and Benjamin Sesko all arriving in the summer.
“They always said to me that they will buy, they will reinforce the team, they wanted players,” Fernandes explained.
“The manager said to me, like, ‘no, we want more players to help you to become a better team, so we don’t want you to go, because then if we bring some people, and then we lose you, we’re still going to lose something’.”
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The 31-year-old also revealed his long-term aim at the club and will not entertain any talk about his future until after the World Cup.
He continued: “Everyone knows my aim is to win the Premier League and the Champions League with the club. That’s my aim and also the aim for the club, that’s the truth,” he said.
“From my side, that’s not talked about. Because my agent also knows how I work, so if he wants to talk to me, it will be after the World Cup. Because until then, I won’t speak to anyone,” he said.
When asked about Al Hilal’s reaction to the proposal being rejected, he added: “I don’t think they were very happy for me to reject the offer, obviously. I accept that, because the offer was very good in terms of salary. Everything was massive for me. It was a huge difference.”
Amorim hails ‘great leader’ Fernandes
Ruben Amorim waxed lyrical about the qualities of Fernandes as Manchester United skipper.
He explained that his impression of working with Fernandes had changed after working alongside the midfielder on a daily basis.
“It’s a little bit different [from] what I was expecting,” said Amorim in his pre-match press conference ahead of the clash with Brighton.
“Everything you read about the players, sometimes it’s not that. You can understand sometimes, and I already spoke about that.
“The frustration that he feels is because he wants to help a lot, the teammates, sometimes it’s not the best way, but it comes from a good place, and you don’t know that when you are not here.
“He wants the responsibility all the time. He suffered a lot with the losses. Every time we don’t win a game, you can feel it that he takes it personally, as you should be, as a captain. He’s a great leader, a great footballer.”
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Amorim also looked ahead to the meeting with Brighton and emphasised how the fine margins went in their favour against Liverpool, as United saw off their old rivals last Sunday.
“If Gakpo shot 20 centimetres here, the narrative would be completely different,” Amorim gesticulated with his hands, as The Reds came close to sealing a point at Anfield.
“There are doubts if you are a manager in this kind of club — you don’t win a lot of games, people are going to doubt you.
“My point of view is that we need to be clear on our path and not changing so much because we win one game.”
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