Saudi Arabia’s financial might was brought to bear in an attempt to sign Bruno Fernandes, but ‘talkSport’ claims that the Manchester United captain rejected no fewer than three firm offers from Al-Hilal SFC, Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad, the country’s three powerhouses.
It’s no secret that the Saudi Pro League is doing everything it can to lure Bruno Fernandes. But for the time being, the Portuguese midfielder remains unmoved despite the financial opportunity and according to ‘talkSport’, he has already rejected three separate offers from the big clubs in Saudi Arabia this summer.
In early June, Al-Hilal SFC made a strong move, making contact with the Manchester United captain and the club, offering him the opportunity to play in the Club World Cup. There, he would have been coached by Simone Inzaghi, who did succumb to temptation, and would have shared a dressing room with compatriots such as Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves, or the striker Darwin Nunez. But he rejected the proposal even though the Red Devils left everything in his hands, as there was an agreement for £80 million, about 92 million euros.
“There was an opportunity. The chairman called me and asked if I wanted to leave. They were waiting for me. I spoke to Amorim, and he asked me not to leave. Manchester United didn’t want to sell me; they don’t need the money. If I had wanted to leave, they would have made it possible. Al Hilal were very kind, but I turned down the proposal,” Bruno himself admitted in a press conference before the Germany-Portugal Nations League match.
United Captain rejected Cristiano’s call to join Saudi Arabia
That’s what we already knew. But there were two more approaches. With the market more advanced, Al-Nassr sounded out Bruno Fernandes through his national team colleague Cristiano Ronaldo, who has become an ambassador for the Saudis to convince their potential signings. But again, the former Sporting CP player told the ‘7’ that he desired to continue at Manchester United.
Finally, Al-Ittihad, with Karim Benzema, Bergwijn, Fabinho and N’Golo Kante, were interested in the Portuguese midfielder’s situation about two weeks before the closure of the major European leagues’ market. In their case, the quota of foreigners in the squad was already complete, so it was not possible to move forward with the operation if there were no departures. There are rumours of the departure of the Brazilian or the French pivot, but so far it has not happened, and the transfer window in Saudi Arabia closes on the 10th.
If not now, the Jeddah club will return later for a Bruno Fernandes who was and remains convinced to continue for another season at Old Trafford. However, the English press assures that the ‘Red Devil’ captain, with a contract until 2027, would consider leaving next summer when he still has a year left on his contract to leave money in the bank and explore the very powerful offers from Saudi Arabia.
