Bruno Fernandes was strongly linked with a move to Saudi Arabia last season on an astronomical salary but turned the offer down to stay with Manchester United.
United had just finished 15th in the league and had lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur. But Fernandes stuck with the club and has helped turn things around, with us currently sitting 3rd in the table and the captain two goals away from equalling the all-time assist record.
Speaking to Wayne Rooney on BBC Sport, Fernandes explained the decision.
I stayed because I thought I still had something that I can give back to the club. 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.
Fernandes is currently favourite to be named Premier League player of the season. The midfielder has spoken about what an honour it would be to be voted by his peers.
You can say as many times as you want that you want to win trophies collectively. That is true. But these individual accolades are always nice on the personal side. It is players voting for you. That has a different impact because you have been playing against them. If they recognise you as one of the best in the league, it’s a huge privilege.
