Fernandes tells United teammates he will stay despite £100m Saudi offer last year

Bruno Fernandes has told Manchester United teammates and those close to him that he plans to stay at Old Trafford this summer, according to TalkSPORT, despite having seriously considered a £100 million move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal last year.

The United captain’s agent, Miguel Pinho, held talks with Al-Hilal over a potential transfer, and the club did not rule out his sale at the time. Fernandes ultimately rejected the move after discussions with his family, and went on to produce the best season of his career — recording 21 Premier League assists last term, breaking the all-time single-season record jointly held by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry.

Fernandes has not yet held any formal contract talks with United ahead of the World Cup, but has already made his intentions clear to those around him at the club.

The 31-year-old revealed in April that his wife played a decisive role in his decision to stay. Speaking on the Wayne Rooney Show on BBC Sport, he said: “I stayed because I thought I still had something that I can give back to the club. 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 that have achieved the dreams they had and live a good life with their kids and trying to be as successful as possible.”

He added: “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 joined United from Sporting CP in January 2019 and has since made 327 appearances, scoring 107 goals. He registered his first goal contribution at the ongoing World Cup on Tuesday, assisting Cristiano Ronaldo’s second in Portugal’s 5-0 win over Uzbekistan.