Bruno Fernandes claims Man United directors wanted him out saying ‘Loyalty is no longer seen the way it used to be’.
‘They wanted me to leave’: Bruno Fernandes hits out at Manchester United directors.
Bruno Fernandes has attacked colleagues “who don’t value the club” as much as he does, claiming that Manchester United officials “hurt” him by attempting to transfer him.
Over the previous two summers, Fernandes has been the focus of transfer interest. The Saudi Arabian team Al-Hilal offered United £100 million and the player a weekly salary of £700,000 in the most recent transfer window.
Fernandes did not identify any particular members of United’s management. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is in charge of football policy, Omar Berrada is the CEO, and Jason Wilcox is the football director.
Fernandes was asked if Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid had made an approach during an interview with Canal 11, a channel controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation. He seems to mention multiple transfer windows in his response.
“Nowadays, the issue of loyalty is no longer seen the way it used to be,” he said. “I could have left in the last transfer window and would have earned a lot more money. Financially, it would have been much better for me.
“At one point I was going to leave – I won’t say where – but I would have won many trophies that season. I decided to stay not only for family reasons but because I genuinely like the club. The conversation with the coach also made me stay.
“But from the club’s side, I felt a bit of: ‘If you go, it’s not really that bad for us.’ That hurts me a little. More than hurting, it makes me sad, because I’m a player they have nothing to criticise me for. I’m always available for every match, I always play, whether well or badly. I give my maximum.
“ Then you look around you and see players who don’t value the club as much as you do and who don’t defend the club as much. That makes you sad.”
“The club went through difficult times, and I could have done what many people do and said: ‘I want to leave the club, I don’t want to train, I just want to leave for 20 or 30 million, so they pay me more on the other side,’” Fernandes said. “And maybe I would have gone to a better club or earned more money. But I never did that.
“I never felt in a position to do so, because I felt the empathy and affection I had for the club were mutual. I think that empathy can exist, but there comes a point where money is more important than you. The club wanted me to leave – I have that in my head. I told the directors that but I think they didn’t have the courage to make that decision because the manager wanted me to stay. If I had said I wanted to leave, even with the manager wanting me to stay, they would have let me go.”