Bruno Fernandes has questioned Manchester United’s loyalty to him in an astonishing new interview, revealing the club wanted him to leave in the summer but ‘didn’t have the courage’ to force him out.
The United captain was the subject of a £100million offer from Al-Hilal early this summer with the Saudi giants prepared to triple the salary he is currently on in Manchester.
The Portugal international was set to bank around £200million over three years in the Saudi Pro League but rejected their offer to stay on at United.
Speaking after United’s 4-4 draw with Bournemouth on Monday night, Fernandes insisted United were desperate to offload him before the season started, a decision that left him ‘hurt’ and questioning his future.
Fernandes explained he does not feel ‘valued’ by the club, describing his current situation as ‘being on thin ice’ and believes United still want to move him on as part of their latest ‘makeover’ at the end of the current campaign.
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‘Until you win trophies, you’re not valued as much, regardless of the club and league you’re in,’ Fernandes told Canal 11. ‘I was valued, and what values me most has to be my club, although lately I feel like I’m on thin ice.
‘In England, when a player starts approaching 30, they start thinking they need a makeover. It’s like the furniture.’
Fernandes’ proposed move to Al-Hilal was well documented last summer but the midfielder was also linked with a move away from Old Trafford the previous year with Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain among the sides credited with interest over the years.
Discussing his options both last summer and the previous year, Fernandes suggested there was interest from a side who he would have won ‘many trophies with’.
‘The issue of loyalty isn’t viewed the same way it used to be. I could have left in the last transfer window, I would have earned much more money, I was going to leave a season ago – I won’t say where – but I would have won many trophies that season.
‘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 has 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 is one of the biggest earners at United but his earnings would have been dwarfed by what was on offer when Al-Hilal approached him in the summer.
While Ruben Amorim was desperate to keep him in Manchester, Fernandes did not feel the directors felt the same way – suggesting they did not want to clash with their manager.
He continued: ‘I can’t complain, I’m very well paid, but obviously the difference is abysmal. That was never what guided me. If one day I have to play in Saudi Arabia, I’ll play in Saudi Arabia. My lifestyle will change, my children’s lives will be sunny, after six years in Manchester with cold and rain, I’ll be playing in a growing league, with renowned players.
‘I could have left like many people do and said: “I want to leave, I don’t want to train, I just want to leave for 20 or 30 million, so they pay me more on the other side.” But I never did that. I never felt in a position to do it, because I felt that the empathy and affection I had for the club were the same.
‘But it gets to a point where, for them, money is more important than anything. The club wanted me to go, I have that in my head. I told the directors that, but I think they didn’t have the courage to make that decision, because the manager wanted me. If I had said I wanted to leave, they would have let me go.’
