‘I messaged Bruno Fernandes after Man Utd star made call to reject Saudi – I’ve been fretting’

Bruno Fernandes could well remain at Old Trafford this summer after rejecting a mega-money deal with Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal - and Rio Ferdinand was quick to get in touch with the Man Utd star

Rio Ferdinand has revealed that he messaged Bruno Fernandes right away after hearing that he had rejected a move to the Saudi Pro League. The Portuguese midfielder saw his future at Old Trafford thrown into question as Manchester United's post-season tour of Malaysia and Hong Kong came to a close.

Al-Hilal were offering £100million for the 30-year-old club captain, tabling him an outrageous £700k per-week salary over three years. The move may have proven incredibly costly for the United top brass, given Fernandes has been a standout in an otherwise dysfunctional Red Devils team under Ruben Amorim's stewardship.

The Portuguese mastermind will seemingly be elated at being able to keep his talisman for the time being, as it seems Amorim will have the opportunity to build around Fernandes with a full transfer window and pre-season at his disposal.

United hero Ferdinand – who has remained a fan of the club he became a legend at between 2002 and 2014 – was also delighted that Fernandes has made the decision to snub the riches on offer in Saudi Arabia to stay in the north west of England. Speaking on his Rio Presents podcast, the 46-year-old said: "I've got to be honest, the biggest news for me today.

"I woke up, I've been fretting the last three days, because I'm seeing Fabrizio [Romano], [David] Ornstein – the lot of them... 'Bruno's going Saudi. They've offered him £200m over four years.'

"Now listen, I've got to be honest with you. I don't know if I could have said no – 30 years old, at a club that's struggling. He's obviously had the conversation and listened, I definitely would have done that as well.

"He's staying, you know? Bruno's staying. Our most potent goalscorer, our biggest goal threat, our biggest provider, our biggest chance-maker. He does the lot.

"And our captain. He's just lost in the Europa League final, has just finished in our worst position that we've ever seen in recent years in the Premier League. In a team that's on its knees confidence-wise at the moment, that needs a big lift in this summer and this recruitment window, and needs the manager to get on his horse and start riding it.

"And our biggest player, our talisman, our captain has said no to Saudi where many others would have said yes, and I couldn't have woke up this morning happier."

Ferdinand, who hinted he had shown his huge appreciation and approval of the decision to Fernandes directly, revealed: "I did message him. I mean, I won't go into the details of that, but what a man."

Not only did Fernandes turn down the opportunity to make a hefty payday in Saudi Arabia, but he also snubbed the chance to link up with Portugal team-mates, Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo. It comes as Amorim has already got the ball rolling in terms of big money arrivals this summer, agreeing a deal for Matheus Cunha from Wolves on Sunday in a £62.5m move.

The Red Devils struggled in terms of a goalscoring presence this season, with Rasmus Hojlund finding the back of the net just four times in 33 appearances, while last summer's marquee signing, Joshua Zirkzee, registered just three Premier League goals.

United are also now looking at adding to their ranks 25-year-old Brentford winger Bryan Mbeumo, who scored 20 goals for the Bees in the Premier League this season. It is thought that Old Trafford is his preferred destination this summer, and the Red Devils are expected to open talks with him in the coming days.

The chance to link up with the likes of Cunha and Fernandes appears to be appealing to Mbuemo, despite the club's struggles on the field that saw them fail to qualify for Europe for the first time in over a decade.

Should United manage to fend off any interest from top clubs around Europe for Fernandes before the window slams shut at the end of the summer, they'll believe they stand a better chance of causing more teams trouble in the 2025/26 campaign.