Bruno Fernandes tells Rio Ferdinand he had TWO opportunities to leave Man United as he reveals the motivation behind choosing to stay at Old Trafford
Bruno Fernandes has revealed he actually had two opportunities to leave Manchester United down the years – but wants to stay because he believes in the club’s trophy-winning potential.
The Red Devils captain made waves this week when he claimed that United wanted to offload him over the summer to Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal in a bombshell interview with Portuguese outlet Canal 11.
But Fernandes, who joined United from Sporting Lisbon for £68million in 2020, insists he has been loyal during the hard times – even when his team-mates have tailed off and it isn’t appreciated.
‘When I came to the club, apart from loving being here and loving the club, I think my loyalty was like in the toughest periods I had the club and I could have left in two times,’ he told the Rio Ferdinand Presents Podcast.
‘The club said, “no, we need you.” And I said, okay, you gave me something. I will give you something.”
‘Obviously, I think the time at the club has not been as I wanted because obviously, I wanted to lift trophies and I haven’t lift as many as I should and I could.
Bruno Fernandes says he has had two opportunities to leave Man United down the years
However, he says the drive to win trophies – and the conviction that United can lift them – has kept him around
‘But at the same time, I think everything I’ve done for the club in a certain way was still very important and not taking nothing away from other players that were here and everything.
‘I think when we struggled the most, I stayed present to the club and I think everyone at the club, I hope is aware of that because the chances I had were very good.
‘So I’m very aware that I could have done a different path. I could have gone in a different way and probably winning more trophies and people talking about me in a different way because I’ve had trophies into my cabinet. So nowadays people talk more like you are a better player or a worse player if you win or you lose trophies.’
Fernandes used the example of Francesco Totti at Roma as an inspiration. Totti stayed with the Italian captial side for his entire career but only won Serie A once alongside a handful of domestic cups – a strong haul but not as much as he could have lifted elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Fernandes has helped United to an FA Cup and a Carabao Cup but has not come close to achieving the higher ambitons of Premier League and Champions League glory.
While United’s progress under Ruben Amorim has been inconsistent, the 31-year-old believes he is well-placed to add to his trophy haul.
‘When I speak about going and winning trophies I stayed here because I think I still can win trophies here,’ he added.
‘I wouldn’t have stayed here if the club hasn’t told me our aim is still to get the highest we can be, get back to winning trophies, get back to be the club we were before.
He says he has remained loyal when others haven’t – and that this isn’t appreciated enough
Fernandes was speaking to Red Devils legend Rio Ferdinand on his podcast
‘Because if that was not the aim then yes I wouldn’t have stayed here.
‘But because I know the aim of the club is still to get back to where they want to be and where I want the club to be and that’s why I came to the club in the first place. So if I can help to get back there that’s all I want to do.’
Fernandes has previously been open about the prospect of a summer move to Saudi Arabia and why family reasons was one aspect of turning it down.
And in his recent interview with Canal 11, he bemoaned how ‘loyalty isn’t viewed the same way it used to be’.
He said on the Soltinhos pelo Mundo show: ‘I decided to stay, also because of family reasons, but because I genuinely love 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 bit. More than hurting, it makes me sad because I’m a player who [there is] nothing to criticise. I’m always available, 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.’
Fernandes’ comments are a departure from his previous statements regarding a potential move to the Saudi Pro League.
Speaking to Daily Mail Sport in October, Fernandes had said he had been assured he remained part of the clubs plans when on their post-season trip to Malaysia in May.
Fernandes had met with chief executive Omar Berrada, director of football Jason Wilcox and Amorim.
‘I had a conversation with Omar and he said “we won’t say no but obviously we want you to stay at the club. If you want to go, we won’t say that it’s not a good offer for us because it’s massive money”,’ Fernandes told Daily Mail Sport in October.
‘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”, I had to find a solution for myself and I will leave – but obviously that wasn’t the case.’
The post-season tour came at a time when Al-Hilal had been pushing to sign Fernandes ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup.
Daily Mail Sport reported at the time that Fernandes had been given a deadline by the Saudi club of the end of May to decide whether he wanted to join.
Al-Hilal had made an offer to United in the region of £100million, which was not rejected. The personal terms for Fernandes were life-changing, even for a player who earns close to £300,000-a-week.
Fernandes was understood to have been offered a three-year contract worth a basic £700,000-a-week, with the deal potentially having been worth £65m-a-season including signing-on fee and bonuses.
Fernandes had previously told Daily Mail Sport that he had been assured he remained part of the club’s plans in meetings on the club’s post-season tour in Malaysia back in May
His agent Miguel Pinho had talks in Riyadh. Fernandes spoke to Al-Hilal’s president and, in the end, decided to stay where he was.
When Fernandes was asked by Daily Mail Sport in October whether a move was still possible at the end of the season, he admitted ‘I don’t know’.
‘I don’t think they were very happy for me to reject the offer, obviously. I accept that, because the offer was very good in terms of salary. Everything was massive for me. It was a huge difference,’ Fernandes said.
‘I’ve seen a lot of people talking that I had an agreement to go already next season. If the club has done that agreement, it wasn’t made with me.
‘My agent also knows how I work. If he wants to talk to me, it will be after the World Cup. Because until then, I won’t speak to anyone.’
Head to the Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel to watch the full interview.
