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Bruno Fernandes turned down a £200m Al Hilal deal to stay at Manchester United, crediting his wife Ana for guiding the decision, just as she once paid for their early dates.
Bruno Fernandes has revealed his wife Ana played a crucial role in his decision to reject a blockbuster offer from Al Hilal and stay at Manchester United.
The Portuguese playmaker was offered a staggering £200 million package by the Saudi club, which reportedly would have tripled his current £250,000-a-week wages.
But with two years left on his United contract, the 30-year-old captain has opted to remain at Old Trafford, citing family and emotional factors above financial ones.
“There was that possibility [I could leave]. The president of Al Hilal called me a month ago,” Fernandes said. “There was a waiting period on my part. I would be open to it, if Manchester United felt it was my time.”
He confirmed he spoke with Ruben Amorim, the Sporting manager also approached by Saudi clubs, and with United, who were unwilling to sell unless Fernandes insisted.
“We never talked about money – that was all handled by my agent, not me,” he added.
Ultimately, it was his wife Ana who helped him make the call. The couple met as teenagers and have been together since Fernandes was an unknown young player with no money for dates.
“I spoke with my family to understand what I really wanted. It was actually my wife who asked me — I never said yes or no. She put my professional priorities ahead of everything else,” Fernandes shared.
In his early career, Fernandes couldn’t afford cinema tickets or dinners. Ana supported them by working weekends as a futsal referee.
“Ana has been with me since we were 16 or 17. When we first started dating, I wasn’t making any money. She used to referee three or four futsal matches on Saturdays, and then we’d go to the cinema on Sundays — she paid,” Fernandes said.
“Even at the pizza place, she had to pay. She got us through the tough times.”
Today, Ana is the CEO of Studio Otto, an architecture and interior design firm. With over 120,000 followers on Instagram, she shares moments of their family life and Bruno’s United journey, earning her the nickname: “Queen of Old Trafford.”