Another record broken 

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It wasn’t long ago that Manchester United had the chance to sell Bruno Fernandes to Al-Hilal and make a sizeable profit, with reports of an offer around €100 million from the Saudi Pro League in June 2025. For a player on the wrong side of 30 years old, that might have been a tempting proposition. But doing so would’ve effectively meant enacting a full-scale rebuild, because there is no player that can replace Fernandes. It would’ve taken three marquee signings just to replace what he contributes for the Red Devils in terms of goals, assists and work rate. Some 12 months later, United will only be delighted to have resisted the Arabian riches in favour of keeping him around.

Any footballer would’ve at least considered the opportunity, given the potential salary and benefits on offer. Fernandes would’ve had Cristiano Ronaldo in his ear too. But after speaking with his wife and the club, politely rejected the move which could’ve earned him twice what he brought home in the UK. “Manchester United said they didn’t want to sell me. They said if I wanted to go I could, but they didn’t need the money. I spoke to coach Rúben Amorim who, throughout that period, he was pushing for me not to go,” he said in January 2025.

Fernandes said it was an “exciting offer” from Al-Hilal and it would have been “easy” to move to Saudi Arabia, with several Portuguese players, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruben Neves, playing there. “I want to play at the highest possible level. I want to play major competitions. I know I still can and I want to be happy doing the thing I love the most. For better or worse, this is how I see football and I’m passionate about football and this is the decision I’ve made.”

Amorim is no longer in charge and, while his reign was nothing short of disastrous, United can be thankful for those efforts in keeping him at the club when others might have sold. Current interim boss Michael Carrick certainly will be grateful. During a huge showdown with fellow top-four challengers Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday, Fernandes once again proved worthy of his candidacy as a potential Player of the Year winner. Not that he needed to, of course. But the captain stepped up when they truly needed him, like he has done almost every time he has stepped out onto the pitch this season.

With the score deadlocked at 0-0 at the interval, it was the Portuguese playmaker who provided the assist for Casemiro to score the opener on 53 minutes and lift the 75,000-strong crowd. Then Villa took a stronghold on the game and produced a deserved equaliser through Ross Barkley. Fernandes was vocal in reminding his team-mates to improve and keep this heads up. Everything was going through him: tackles, passes, chances, starting moves, and even winning back possession. The 31-year-old refused to throw in the towel and that determination spread to his United colleagues as they pressed for a winner.

When Fernandes found himself out on the left flank, he didn’t panic and play the wrong pass. He waited for Matheus Cunha’s run in behind and sliced the Villa defence open. The Brazilian ran through, striding towards goal and slid the ball beyond Emi Martinez from a tight angle to make it 2-1. When celebrating, Cunha pointed towards the skipper, knowing full well he was the only player who could’ve produced that through ball. Even at 3-1, he threaded another inch-perfect pass to Benjamin Šeško and the Slovenian, caught in two minds, made a horrible miscue with the cross-shot. It seemed like every time Villa lost the ball, there was Fernandes just waiting to seize upon it and carve them open on the break.

The fans serenaded him for his efforts in the second half and even a yellow card for dissent didn’t ruin his day as they ran out 3-1 winners. Fernandes now has seven goals and 16 assists in the league after setting up two goals, which is a record tally for a United player in a single season – surpassing the previous record of 15 set by David Beckham with eight games left. Since joining from Sporting CP in January 2020 for €65 million, Fernandes has scored 105 goals and provided 103 assists in 316 appearances. It’s an astonishing total, and one that undoubtedly puts him amongst the Premier League’s greatest midfielders of all-time.

His €40 million market value may decline again in the future due to his age, but to United, he is priceless. The 13-time winners finished 15th in the Premier League last season, but the better question is where would they have finished without him? Now, they are well-positioned to finish third this term after winning their 10th home game this season. Old Trafford is a fortress again, and Fernandes is the king sitting on the throne.