Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was seriously considering an offer to join Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal earlier this month only to turn them down
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Bruno Fernandes pictured competing at the Nations League final
Bruno Fernandes was a transfer target for Al Hilal(Image: Getty Images)
Al Hilal CEO Esteve Calzada has insisted that his club are not deterred about approaching any player in the future after being rejected by Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes this summer.
MEN Sport understands that Fernandes was seriously considering the offer from the Saudi Pro League club, who had made him their top priority in the transfer market. Al Hilal wanted to sign the Portuguese midfielder ahead of the Club World Cup and after putting a lucrative offer to him, were confident that he would sign.
However, after mulling it over with his family, Fernandes chose to remain a United player and will be leading the club next season following Ruben Amorim's rebuild.
"It is important for Bruno to see that we are changing a lot of things in our club," Amorim said of his captain.
"The behaviour, the everyday organisation, the pace of training. All these things, if he sees that we are doing that across all levels, he will want to stay at this club. He loves this club.
"That is the most important thing, not the Champions League. He wants to win with this club and he trains and behaves at a high level. Everybody here needs to do that - he will be here for that."
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As for Al Hilal, it is believed they were rejected by Napoli's Victor Osimhen this month and head into Wednesday's clash with Real Madrid without the big name signing they craved.
In an interview with BBC Sport, Calzada was quizzed about the interest in Fernandes but refused to confirm they were keen on the midfielder. "I cannot confirm nor deny that we've been interested in him," he explained.
"He's a big player, it fits the profile of player that we think would be good for Al-Hilal, just like many others. We're not refraining from contacting players because we feel they would say no to us.
"The names we are linked with demonstrate the ambition of the club. We believe that we are in a position to pitch [to] any players nowadays."
Calzada's comments suggest that United may need to brace themselves for another approach for Fernandes in the future. But, for the time being at least, the midfielder is going nowhere.
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