Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United must ensure they challenge for major honours, as questions continue over his future. The 31-year-old has a £57m release clause included in his contract with the overseas club, which expires at the end of next season, with an option to extend his contract by a further year until 2028.
But for the third successive summer, his future remains the subject of intense speculation, and the World Cup threatens to complicate things further. United are keen for Fernandes to stay at the club and have made their position clear. The player has been told that while it is currently unrealistic to guarantee a Premier League title, he must at least commit to becoming a genuine contender at the end of the title race, as uncertainty over his future continues to grow over his relationship with Saudi Arabia.
Fernandes told the Telegraph: “Everyone who comes to Manchester United wants to win every trophy. When you come to the club, no one thinks you’re going to be fighting for one or two trophies in six years. You want to be fighting for every trophy.”
“Then we went to three finals and didn’t win. That can happen. But at least you were there to fight. We were close.
“And what I’ve said every time I’ve talked to the club, and what I’ve wanted since I’ve been here, is that I want to compete, because when you compete, you get closer to winning. If you don’t compete, you have no chance of getting closer to anything.
“So the main thing the club understood is that the last time they won the Premier League was in 2013. For a club like Manchester United, that’s too long. It’s not normal to not win the Premier League for this long.”
“As players, you have to understand that the fans and the expectations are always going to be that we want to come back and win the Premier League. As players, we have that expectation when we come to Man Utd and that hasn’t changed.”
“I know people are going to think, ‘I’m going to get more money, I’m going to get a better contract.’ No, you come to Man United because you want to win trophies, because you can get money anywhere. “A lot of clubs in the Premier League have good wages, a lot of clubs in Italy and Spain pay a lot of money.
“But you come to the club because of the history, because of what you want to achieve and what you think you can achieve. What I always say to clubs is: ‘I can’t promise you that you’re going to win the Premier League. It’s not possible.’
“But if you promise me that you’re going to be competitive and go all the way there… that’s all I need to know, because it’s my responsibility to be the best version of myself and help everyone around me be the best version of themselves and be the club we want to be.”
