Ian Wright has criticised Manchester United’s treatment of Bruno Fernandes and admits he would take him at Arsenal ‘tomorrow’.
In an insightful interview with Canal 11 which aired earlier this week, Fernandes said he was left ‘hurt’ when he realised United ‘wanted me to leave’ last summer.
Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal made a lucrative offer for the Manchester United captain, indicating they were ready to pay a fee of around £100m and wages of up to £700,000-a-week.
Fernandes felt United were keen to strike a deal but decided to reject the move in order to extend his spell at Old Trafford.
The Portugal midfielder, who has made more than 300 appearances for Manchester United, is contracted to the club until 2027, with the option of an additional year.
Get personalised updates on Manchester United every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you.
‘From the club I felt it was, “If you go it’s not so bad for us”. It hurts me a bit,’ Fernandes said after United’s 4-4 Premier League draw with Bournemouth.
‘More than hurting me, it makes me sad. I’m a player that no-one can criticise, I’m always available, I always give my best.
‘I could have left in this transfer window, I would have earned much more money. I would have won many trophies this season, but I decided not to go, not only for family reasons but because I genuinely love the club.
‘The club wanted me to leave. I told the directors that, I think they didn’t have the courage to make that decision because the manager wanted me.
‘But if I said I wanted to leave, even with the manager wanting me to stay, the club would let me.’
Fernandes joined Manchester United at the start of 2020 in a £47m deal from Portuguese side Sporting.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Since then, Fernandes has established himself as not only United’s most important player but one of the standout stars in the Premier League, scoring 103 goals and making 93 assists.
Ex-Arsenal and England striker Wright is baffled by the stance Manchester United took with Fernandes last summer and believes the saga is another example of ‘indecisiveness’ at board level.
‘When you look at Bruno’s quotes, it comes back to Man United being indecisive,’ Wright said on The Overlap. ‘So someone comes in for Bruno Fernandes last summer… you shut that down.
‘He didn’t want to go. Bruno is basically saying the club went, “it’s up to you if you want to leave”. That’s not what you want to hear when you’re the person who has basically held the club up by yourself.
‘You want the club to say, “you’re not going nowhere, you’re a massive part of this”. But Manchester United didn’t do that.
‘They gave him the option and said, “if you want to go, you can go”. What is that saying to him? I would take him tomorrow.’
More to follow…
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.