Ian Wright has criticised Manchester United’s treatment of Bruno Fernandes, insisting he would have the 31-year-old midfielder at Arsenal ‘tomorrow’.
In a revealing interview with Canal 11 earlier this week, Fernandes said he had been left ‘hurt’ when he realised the club ‘wanted me to leave’ last summer.
Fernandes revealed he spoke to Cristiano Ronaldo about a potential switch to Saudi Arabia, while Daily Mail Sport reported earlier this year that Al-Hilal had made an offer to United in the region of £100million, which was not rejected. The personal terms for Fernandes were life-changing, even for a player who earns close to £300,000-a-week.
But United’s most consistent performer, who is contracted to the club until 2027 with an option to extend an additional year, opted instead to stay out of love for the club.
Speaking on The Overlap, Arsenal legend Wright said: ‘When you look at Bruno’s quotes, it comes back to Man United being indecisive. 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.
Ian Wright has criticised Manchester United’s treatment of Bruno Fernandes, insisting he would have the 31-year-old midfielder at Arsenal ‘tomorrow’
‘When you look at Bruno’s quotes, it comes back to Man United being indecisive. So someone comes in for Bruno Fernandes last summer… you shut that down,’ Wright said on The Overlap
‘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.’
Fernandes joined Manchester United at the start of 2020 in a £47million deal from Sporting Lisbon.
A fan-favourite who has made over 300 appearances for the fallen giants, Fernandes admitted in the interview that ‘loyalty isn’t as well regarded as it once was’. He also added that Ruben Amorim’s eagerness to keep his captain also influenced his decision.
He said: ‘From the club’s side, I felt a bit like, “if you leave, it’s not so bad for us.” It hurts me a bit. More than hurting, it makes me sad because I’m a player who (there is) nothing to criticise. I’m always available, I always play, good or bad. I give my all.
‘Then, you see things around you, players who don’t value the club as much and don’t defend the club as much… that makes you sad.’
When Fernandes was asked by Daily Mail Sport in October whether a move was still possible at the end of the season, he admitted ‘I don’t know’.
‘I don’t think they were very happy for me to reject the offer, obviously. I accept that, because the offer was very good in terms of salary. Everything was massive for me. It was a huge difference,’ Fernandes said.
‘I’ve seen a lot of people talking that I had an agreement to go already next season. If the club has done that agreement, it wasn’t made with me.
‘My agent also knows how I work. If he wants to talk to me, it will be after the World Cup. Because until then, I won’t speak to anyone.’
