Volkswacht Bodensee - Manchester United 'wanted me to leave', claims Fernandes

But the 31-year-old claimed manager Ruben Amorim still had him in his plans and that convinced him to stay at Old Trafford.

"My passion and empathy for the club were the same, but there comes a point where money becomes more important to them than you," Fernandes told Canal 11, a channel owned by the Portuguese Football Federation, on Monday.

"The club wanted me to leave. I said it to the directors and I think they didn't have the courage to make that decision because the coach wanted me.

"But if I had said I wanted to leave, even if the coach wanted me to stay, the club would have let me go."

Fernandes, who has 103 goals in 307 appearances for Man Utd in all competitions since arriving in 2020, was also reportedly hurt by the club hierarchy's willingness to part ways with him.

"The feeling I got from the club was, 'if you leave, it's not so bad for us'. That hurt me a little," he said, according to comments reported on the website of Portuguese sports daily A Bola.

The playmaker said he had considered a move to Saudi Arabia, following in the footsteps of compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo who made the move to the kingdom in 2023 after his acrimonious departure from Old Trafford.

S.Gantenbein--VB