Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Friday, October 31, 2025, 09:07 / Updated Friday, October 31, 2025 09:07
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes (31) has revealed how his wife made him reconsider leaving the Premier League. The Portuguese claims that it took only one sentence to convince him to turn down the offer from Al Hilal, from Saudi Arabia, which guaranteed him a ridiculous salary: 800,000 euros per week.
Bruno Fernandes is Manchester United's most important player. Arriving at “Old Trafford” at the beginning of 2020, he recently ticked off his 300th game for the legendary English team. His statistics are formidable, especially since we are talking about a midfielder, even if with an offensive profile: 100 goals, 87 assists.
While the situation at Manchester United seemed to be murky, the Arab sheikhs got on the phone and tried to convince him to sign with one of the teams financed by the Saudi state: Al Hilal.
Bruno was close to making offers, especially as that contract would have brought him dizzying sums, but in the end he chose to continue at “Old Trafford”, a decision that his wife, Ana Pinho, contributed to.
One sentence convinced Bruno Fernandes to turn down €800,000 a week in Saudi Arabia
“The first thing he said to me was: “Have you achieved everything you wanted at this club?”. He knew not,” revealed the 31-year-old midfielder in a recent interview with The Times, quoted by sport.sk. It is the question that weighed decisively in favor of Manchester United.
“My family is very comfortable here. The children love the school, they love the lifestyle and even the weather. They are all happy and have found their place here. Sometimes we say that our place in Manchester is more home than Portugal.
I feel good here too and I want to fulfill all my dreams with Manchester United. And my wife knows I haven't made it yet. I also spoke with the coach. He asked me to stay. He told me: «We want to bring in other players to help you build a better team. If we lose you, we gain nothing».
Manchester didn't want to sell me either. He doesn't need the money that much. I heard that I would have an agreement with another club, but I haven't spoken to anyone. So if there is an agreement, it is between the clubs, not with me. My agent knows how I work. If anyone wants to talk to me about it, they will only do so after the World Cup.
I want people to speak well of me. I'd be lying if I said otherwise. At the same time, however, I want to win trophies and that's what I miss in Manchester. I failed to bring the success I dreamed of when I signed the contract. My individual performances didn't take me where I wanted to be,” added the Portuguese international.
Bruno won only two trophies with Manchester United: the League Cup in 2023, the FA Cup a year later.
