Bruno Fernandes has confirmed that he rejected an incredible offer from Al-Hilal and has also praised one player who he speaks to Manchester United teammate Joshua Zirkzee about.
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been the subject of an intense transfer saga in recent weeks as Al-Hilal tried to tempt him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Despite the money on offer being mouth-watering, Fernandes ended up rejecting the offer after conversations with Ruben Amorim and his family.
After being asked about it during a press conference with the Portugal, the subject changed to the upcoming clash for United’s star and his national side.
They face up against Germany in the semi-finals of the Nations League on Wednesday evening and Fernandes was on media duties ahead of the game.
Fernandes reveals he’s been speaking to Zirkzee about Musiala
Understandably, the press conference was a good opportunity to ask Fernandes about his future and the transfer interest but soon afterwards he was questioned on the upcoming opponents.
When asked who he believes the best German player is, Fernandes smiled and offered huge praise to Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala. The 22-year-old will not be playing in the game as he is recovering from injury to try and play in the Club World Cup, much to Fernandes’ delight.
“They have a lot of good players,” the midfielder said. “Obviously, for me, the most dangerous player for them is not playing. Luckily for us, that is Musiala.”
Fernandes went onto explain that he rates the Germany star as one of the best advanced midfielders in the world and that he has spoken to Joshua Zirkzee about him. Zirkzee played with Musiala at Bayern before he moved to Bologna and they are still close friends.
“He’s probably [the best] for me,” Bruno added. “I’ve been speaking with Joshua Zirkzee about him a lot because they are very good friends.
“He’s for me, at the moment, if not the best, one of the best number 10s in the world. He’s a very young, talented player who has so much to give to football. Luckily for us, he’s not in the game.”
United could have signed Musiala before Bayern move
Musiala came through the academy system at Chelsea but departed the London-based club in 2018 and joined Bayern the following year.
However, United were actually offered the chance to have then-15-year-old Musiala on trial at Carrington. Those within United’s academy were already fans of the player.
But, at the time, the deal for Musiala – who was weighing up whether to represent England or Germany – had complications, and the Reds were conscious of regulations and decided that entering the running for the midfielder would be too risky.
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Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing and he is just one of the many players who United missed out on at a younger age. It doesn’t make it any less painful though.
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