Man Utd and Bruno Fernandes are signing from a different hymn sheet when it comes to whether he could have left Old Trafford in the summer.
Bruno Fernandes
Manchester United are still heavily reliant on Bruno Fernandes
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When it comes to what exactly happened with Bruno Fernandes in the summer of 2025, we might never get the full picture. The Manchester United midfielder’s latest explosive comments in Portugal only make the situation murkier.
Fernandes has claimed in an interview with Canal11 that he felt United wanted him out. The 31-year-old said the club wanted to cash in and take Al-Hilal’s mega offer at the end of last season. That roughly tallies with what he said when that interest was made public around the time of the Europa League final.
Speaking after the heartbreak of defeat to Tottenham in Bilbao in May, he insisted he wanted to stay but said if the club wanted him to go, he would go. “If the club thinks it's time to part ways because they want to do some cashing in or whatever, it's what it is, and football sometimes is like this,” he said.
It seems that in Fernandes’ telling of this story, he always got the impression that the club were keener to sell than they were letting on. That interview in the mixed zone at San Mames could be interpreted as a challenge to United’s powerbrokers to tell their captain they wanted him out.
United insist that’s not the case and that the football leadership told him throughout the summer that they wanted him to stay. It’s a message Fernandes himself gave in interviews to mark his 300th appearance for the club at the end of October.
"The manager spoke with me. He said I was still part of the project. He wanted me to stay. The club said the same,” he said.
"I always said that if the club was like 'Bruno, we want to cash in, you are 30 years old. We want to make some money. We don't think you can be part of the future project' or whatever, I would be like, 'OK, I have to find a solution for myself, whatever is best for me and my family' and I will leave.
"Obviously that wasn't the case. I felt that I was still part of the plan.”
Fernandes might feel the club wanted him out, but couldn’t face the potential backlash from supporters by selling their best player. Maybe Fernandes wanted the club to tell him he could go, so he could leave without making a fuss. That might be what he is angling towards again now. We might never know exactly where the truth lies.
The player himself made it very clear this week what he thinks happened. The interview was conducted a couple of weeks ago with the Portuguese FA’s in-house media channel and the comments need little deciphering.
"But there comes a point where, for them, money is more important than anything,” he said. “The club wanted me to go, I have that in my head. I told the directors this, but I think they didn't have the courage to make that decision.
"I decided to stay, also because of family reasons, but because I genuinely like the club. The conversation with the manager also made me stay. But, from the club's side, I felt a bit like, 'If you leave, it's not so bad for us'.
"It hurts me a lot. More than hurting, it makes me sad because I'm a player they have nothing to criticise about. I'm always available, and I always play - good or bad - I give my all. Then you see things around you, players who don't value the club as much and don't defend the club as much... that makes you sad."
Manchester United insist Fernandes is going nowhere anytime soon
Manchester United insist Fernandes is going nowhere anytime soon
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Fernandes isn’t playing like somebody who feels sad about United or has lost any sense of belonging at Old Trafford. He celebrated wildly when Matheus Cunha made it 4-3 on Monday night and then spent nearly a minute at the end of the game airing his frustrations at Casemiro.
He might now be playing permanently in a deeper position, but he has still 12 goal involvements in 16 Premier League games and continues to be the beating heart of this side. As much as Amad is starting to deliver more often, Bryan Mbeumo has hit the ground running and Cunha is stepping up, Fernandes is still the main man.
But back in Bilbao, there was a strong argument that it made sense for United to sell. It felt like Ruben Amorim had to take drastic action to rebuild the team and the money on offer was eye-watering for a player about to turn 31. It would have made some sense if the club had turned round to their on-pitch leader and asked him to go.
Thankfully, they didn’t. United found money from elsewhere to rebuild the attack and it already looks like a worthwhile investment. Yes, the midfield needs improving, but that is someone to play alongside Fernandes, not replace him.
Whatever the truth of the machinations last summer, United are still better off with Fernandes in the team, as he is proving once again this summer.