Bruno Fernandes reveals why he turned down huge Saudi offer

If Manchester United are to secure a return to the Champions League next season, the performances of captain and talisman Bruno Fernandes will have been a big part of that success.

The Portuguese playmaker has put together one of the best seasons of his career in 2025/26, leading the Premier League for assists and dragging a mediocre United team up the table. It’s strange to think that, as recently as last summer, it wasn’t clear whether he would ever wear the red of Manchester United again.

Struggling to show his best form in the demanding 3-4-3 system of former head coach Ruben Amorim, Fernandes was linked with a move away from Old Trafford. He had plenty of suitors but in a recent BBC Sport interview with Wayne Rooney, Fernandes revealed that he was always intent on staying in Manchester.

“I stayed because I thought I still had something that I can give back to the club,” Fernandes explained. He added that he had interest from the Saudi Pro League, where he would have received a significant increase on his lucrative Premier league salary.

“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,” Fernandes said. “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.”

Bruno Fernandes, Player of the Year?

Throughout his time in Manchester, Fernandes has been one of the team’s key creative forces. This season, however, he has taken his output to even greater levels and is within sight of a long-standing Premier League record.

After 33 games, Fernandes stands on 18 Premier League assists in 2025/26. The single-season league record is 20, held jointly by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne. Fernandes have five more games to add three more assists and claim the record for himself.

If he can do so, it would strengthen his claim for English soccer’s biggest individual award. Fernandes is in the running for the Premier League Player of the Year award, although he faces competition from Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhães and Declan Rice, and Manchester City forward Erling Haaland.

“It’s a huge privilege to be in the conversation,” Fernandes said. “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 recognize you as one of the best in the league, it’s a huge privilege.”

Next up for Fernandes and United is the visit of Brentford on Monday, a chance to cement the team’s place in the top five. The 2025/26 season has not gone to plan for Manchester United but Champions League qualification and a major individual milestone would be a testament to Bruno Fernandes’ performances this year.

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