Bruno Fernandes was the subject of transfer interest from Al-Hilal in the summer, but the Manchester United captain is focused on achieving his goals at Old Trafford
Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes sought advice from Cristiano Ronaldo after receiving interest from Al-Hilal
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Bruno Fernandes sought advice from Cristiano Ronaldo following interest from Al-Hilal, before deciding to remain at Manchester United.
Earlier in the transfer window, Fernandes' future came under scrutiny following comments that he would remain at Old Trafford only as long as the club needed him. "I feel the club wants me to be part of the future, so as I said, I don't want to be a player the club doesn't want to have," he said at the time.
"If for some reason they don't want to have me, I will go, but..." The Portuguese's agent even entered discussions with Al-Hilal officials over a potentially lucrative transfer to Saudi Arabia.
The Middle Eastern giants were reportedly prepared to offer a £100million package and make him one of the highest-paid players in world football. While several Premier League stars have made the switch to the Saudi Pro League, Fernandes sought advice from five-time Ballon D'Or winner, Ronaldo, now two years into his stint at Al Nassr.
"I spoke with Cristiano about the situation, about Saudi and everything," the Red Devils star revealed. "I wouldn't say what he told me, but we spoke about it. Obviously, he now has a manager who also spoke with me at the time [Jorge Jesus]. He was at Al-Hilal three years ago.
"The first thing he said to me: 'Are you too expensive for the club?'. I said, 'There is no expensive players for that club!'. But I told him the same, I wasn't eager to move, to go to Saudi Arabia because I wanted to stay at the club. And he's a manager I have a big relationship with. He was the one who trusted me to go to Sporting and to play in the biggest stages.
"But Cristiano told me, he had his opinion on what I should do. It was important for me. Obviously, with all the experience he has and everything, it was important for me to hear what he thought. But obviously, the decision will always come to me and to the club."
In the end, the midfielder declined the offer and has been open about the situation with the United fanbase. But with the January transfer window approaching alongside the World Cup in the summer, Fernandes has admitted he's unsure whether the door to Saudi Arabia is now closed.
Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes has played a key leadership role at Man United over the years
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He said: "I don't know. At the moment, no one spoke with me about anything. As I said last time, I will even say to you, if someone told me, like, 'In the summer, look, we’ll come again.' No one told that to me. I don’t think they [Al-Hilal] were very happy for me to reject the offer, obviously. I accept that."
But one thing is for certain, the 31-year-old has made it clear he would not entertain discussions about his future until after the World Cup. "As I've always said, I feel good here. I want to achieve my dreams still," he continued.
"So I haven't spoken with anyone. I could tell you that there are still people talking to me and saying that they will be very eager to have me next year, of course. But 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."
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