Bruno Fernandes turned down a lucrative £100million move to the Saudi Pro League to stay at Manchester United, and Rio Ferdinand is unsure if he would have been able to do the same
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Rio Ferdinand has admitted that he's not sure he would have been able to turn down the mega-money transfer that Bruno Fernandes was recently offered. Fernandes showed the utmost loyalty to Manchester United earlier this month by turning down a reported £100million move to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League, including an estimated £700,000 per-week salary.
Given that the Red Devils have just endured their worst season in Premier League history, finishing 15th and trophyless, many team-mates and fans may not have blamed the club captain for opting to jump ship - especially given that he is approaching the twilight years of his career at 30.
However, Fernandes' leadership qualities were on full display by snubbing the move to Saudi Arabia in favour of remaining at the heart of Ruben Amorim's squad rebuild for 2025/26. And club legend Ferdinand explained that he believes that the decision tells United fans everything they need to know about the attacking midfielder.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football, the 46-year-old said: "The one thing it says to me, there's a loyalty. And I think that word gets banded about quite a lot, but we don't really see it often from the club's point of view and the players.
"And listen, I understand it's a business. But I think he looks at this as pure, 'I've got unfinished business at United. There's stuff I want to do here. Yes, I've been paid well here. The fans love me.'
"But I think he's in the game of wanting to give back after all he's received. So I've got nothing but respect for him. I would have understood him leaving if he left, 100%.
"But the fact that he stayed and said, listen, there's stuff for me still to do here. I think it's a testament to him as a person, but also another reason why the managers comfortably give him the armband."
Rio Ferdinand stares into the distance
Rio Ferdinand has given his take on Bruno Fernandes' transfer snub
However, in the same breath, Ferdinand admitted that he's unsure if he would have been able to turn down the move if he found himself in Fernandes' shoes. He added: "If I was him, I think I'd have found it difficult to say no. I've got to be honest."
With eight goals and 11 assists to his name this season, Fernandes has often been a shining star in an otherwise dysfunctional United team, and Amorim has already begun improving on positions in which he believes need to be strengthened for 2025/26.
United have already struck a £62.5m deal with Wolves for Matheus Cunha, and are currently linked with the likes of Bryan Mbeumo as they look to bolster their presence in front of goal. Amorim appears to have the full backing of the board, which, combined with his first pre-season tour, should go a long way to fine-tuning his set-up.
Ferdinand, meanwhile, recently launched his Career Transfer Hub in collaboration with Talking Futures, with hopes of bridging the gap between teenagers and their parents in terms of future planning. Speaking on the cause, he said: "I think it's about empowering kind of families to talk more about education, especially parents.
Rio Ferdinand poses at a Talking Futures event
Rio Ferdinand has launched the Career Transfer Hub with Talking Futures
"I think we're comfortable talking about a lot of things, i.e. football, a lot of the time in and around the front room or across the table with your kids, but getting that kind of common ground when you're talking about education, sometimes it's quite difficult, even I've found it difficult at times.
"So something like this is definitely a good way in and a good avenue in to kind of having those conversations about what's next in your life, education wise, where do you see yourself going? What paths are you looking at?
"And this is a great, I think, avenue for parents to really kind of touch the paper and go, right, listen, here we go, and start walking their kids down the right path, giving them a little bit of autonomy over it, but also guide them a little bit at the same time. So I wish I'd had this when I was younger - although I had football, which I was quite fortunate with."
Rio Ferdinand has partnered with Talking Futures to launch the Career Transfer Hub – giving parents access to information on their child’s education options just like football agents have transfer insiders, negotiation teams and career scouts. You can find out more here.
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