Bruno Fernandes will not leave Manchester United for Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal despite edging closer to a move towards the end of last week.
The Portugal international would have earned approximately £700,000 per week in the Middle East, but it’s understood that he still has a lot to offer at the top level and made the decision to stay in both a football and personal circumstance.
The proposed deal for United, who have already signed Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers and are nearing a move for Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo, would have granted Ruben Amorim an additional £100m spending money.
However, despite a season that was United’s worst since the 1973-74 campaign - where they were relegated from the first division - Fernandes was an integral part in keeping united up and helping them reach the Europa League final.
Fernandes has played 290 games in all competitions for the club, scoring 98 goals and assisting 87 times since joining from Sporting at the start of 2020.
The rumours late last week would have surprised United fans across the globe, but manager Amorim believed he would have always stayed for his rebuild at Old Trafford.
*“I do not think so. I do not know for sure, nobody knows but I don’t think so,*” said Amorim.
“I think he wants to stay, he us saying ‘no’ to a lot of things, but it shows that he wants to win and he is really goo and needs to be in the best league in the world.”
“Yes [we can turn down Al-Hilal’s £100m bid], we can find another way to earn money.
“Of course I am the manager, the coach, but sometimes it is the decision of the player, but of course I talk with him, I explain things and I just have that feeling. When you talk to someone, you have that feeling if he wants to stay.
“Of course in a lot of games this season he was so frustrated, but he knows what we are doing. The feeling that I have every time I speak to him is that he wants to continue for sure at Man United.”
Fernandes’ contract at the club runs until 2027, with the option of an additional year.