Bruno Fernandes: Why I snubbed Saudi riches for “struggling” Man United
Bruno Fernandes: Why I snubbed Saudi riches for “struggling” Man United Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes spoke to Wayne Rooney, telling him why he turned down a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia last summer in favour of staying at the club. Transfer dilemma Despite United finishing a lowly 15th place last season and losing the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur and consequently missing out on European football entirely, Fernandes still enjoyed a superb individual campaign. He notched an impressive 19 goals and as many assists on his way to winning the club’s Player of the Month and Players’ Player of the Month awards.
Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal identified Fernandes as their marquee target ahead of the Club World Cup and launched a strong push to lure him away from United. In addition to offering him a three-year contract worth around £200m, Al-Hilal were also prepared to bid £100m to snap him up. United left it to Fernandes to decide his future.
After weeks of speculation, he decided to stay at Old Trafford, much to the jubilation of supporters. The Portugal international would later reveal that he was “hurt” by what he perceived as the hierarchy’s willingness to offload him. Fernandes is having another brilliant season.
With five games left to play, he has eight goals and 18 assists to his name. He needs just three more assists to usurp the Premier League record, which is currently held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. There have been growing calls for Fernandes to be named the Premier League Player of the Year and Rooney is confident he will win the accolade.
The pair sat down for a chat on BBC and addressed a number of topics, including Fernandes’ contributions this term and why he snubbed a switch to the Gulf state last summer. Fernandes makes revelation Fernandes said about being in contention to win the Premier League Player of the Year award, “It’s a huge privilege to be in the conversation. You can say as many times as you want that you want to win trophies collectively.