Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes rejected an incredible financial offer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal earlier in the summer transfer window.
Bruno Fernandes was the star man for an underwhelming Manchester United side last season and received interest from Al-Hilal over the last month.
The Saudi Pro League side attempted to persuade the United captain with a contract worth over £700,000-per-week but their efforts were not rewarded.
Fernandes himself confirmed that he had rejected the offer from Al-Hilal’s president whilst on international duty with Portugal after speaking with United boss Ruben Amorim and his family.
It was a blow for the Saudi side, who were looking for a statement signing ahead of the Club World Cup this summer. They moved onto try and sign Victor Osimhen in time for the tournament but the Nigerian striker rejected their proposal as well.
Al-Hilal chief breaks silence on impact of Fernandes fallout
Following on from the rejection of Fernandes, the Saudi club’s chief executive, Esteve Calzada, has assured reporters that it has not knocked them down despite entering the Club World Cup without the major signing they were expecting.
While Calzada refused to actually admit that they had even been in contact with the United star, he told BBC Sport that the club are ‘not refraining from contacting players’ in case they are rejected and instead believes that they can pitch to any player now.
“I cannot confirm nor deny that we’ve been interested in him,” the Al-Hilal chief responded when asked about the reports surrounding Fernandes.
“He’s a big player, it fits the profile of player that we think would be good for Al-Hilal, just like many others. We’re not refraining from contacting players because we feel they would say no to us.
“The names we are linked with demonstrate the ambition of the club. We believe that we are in a position to pitch [to] any players nowadays.”
United need to generate cash through other sales
On one hand it is very good that United were able to keep hold of Fernandes, but on the other, it is a shame that these clubs aren’t interested in any of the club’s other players.
If reports are to be believed, the Saudi club were willing to pay £100 million for the United captain and that amount of cash is starting to feel very difficult to raise otherwise.
Of course, it is best for United to keep Fernandes but they also have to start making progress on actual sales sooner rather than later.
The problem is that the likes of Marcus Rashford, Antony and Jadon Sancho are not on the same level as the Portuguese player and the demand for them – at the price United want – is much lower.
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