Bruno Fernandes Reveals Surprise Source of Inspiration Behind Man Utd Transfer Decision

The Red Devils captain had the chance to walk away last summer.

Bruno Fernandes had an enormous offer from Saudi Arabia on the table. | Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has admitted his wife helped him realize that he did not want to leave the club last summer.

Fernandes has spoken openly about receiving a blockbuster offer from Saudi Arabia, with reports suggesting he had the chance to more than double his already astronomical wage with a move to the Middle East. Eventually, however, he turned it down and committed to the Red Devils for at least one more season.

Asked how he could resist the riches on offer, Fernandes admitted a heart-to-heart with his wife helped reinforce where his priorities lay.

“I stayed because I thought I still had something that I can give back to the club,” Fernandes told The Wayne Rooney Show.

“Obviously the Saudi situation, with the money ... there was a lot. The good thing I have in my family is that my wife is pretty down to earth like me.

“We’re very aware that we don’t want to be the richest person in the world. We just want to be the ones that have achieved the dreams they had and live a good life with their kids and trying to be as successful as possible.

“The words of my wife were like, ‘have you achieved your dreams? Have you achieved everything you wanted?’

“And that small thing she said made me understand that she’s on the same page as me. Let’s keep trying and see where this takes me.”

He added: “I didn’t want to leave the club at the point where we were struggling.”

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Could Fernandes Leave Man Utd This Summer?

Fernandes remains in elite form. | Ash Donelon/Manchester United/Getty Images

Earlier this season, when United were toiling under Ruben Amorim, there were widespread suggestions that the Red Devils would look to cash in on their superstar to fund a squad rebuild. While Fernandes has never hidden his desire to stay, he has admitted he would begrudgingly leave if the club asked him to.

Now, however, United are no longer struggling. Reborn under Michael Carrick, the team has flown up to third in the Premier League table. They may not be in the title race just yet, but for the first time in years, United no longer feels like a club in freefall.

Would Fernandes be prepared to leave United in their current state? Perhaps, but he did drop a significant hint that he is not thinking about an exit just yet.

“I want to win the Premier League,” he said. “I want to win the Champions League. I never hide from that.”

Fernandes’s future may well hinge on United’s transfer plans. While things are going well, there is still a need for an expensive rebuild, and the chance to cash in on Fernandes and raise the required funds may be too enticing for United to reject.

If United were to sell their talisman, they would have to do so with an elite replacement lined up. Fernandes remains one of the best players in the Premier League, if not the world, and is on track to break the Premier League’s famous assist record—he needs just three more from five remaining games.

That sort of form could prove to be significantly more valuable than any transfer fee.

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