‘I could have gone three years ago’ - Bruno Fernandes explains why he has shunned transfer away from Man Utd in Premier League & Champions League title admission

United captain Fernandes has reaffirmed his loyalty to the club following intense speculation regarding a move to the Saudi Pro League last summer. Despite United enduring a historically poor campaign and a season without European football, the 31-year-old remains a cornerstone of the club's long-term project. Fernandes has spent over six years in Manchester and continues to be the primary creative force for a side currently fighting to regain its status among the elite.

Speaking to Gary Neville on Sky Sports, Fernandes explained that the emotional reward of succeeding at Old Trafford outweighs any potential move elsewhere. He said: "It's not a question of loyalty. I could have gone two years ago, I could have gone three years ago, I could have gone last season, but I really like to be here.

"I think that being successful at this club is something that I can never get at another club. The joy and everything I get, the day I get what I want from this club, I don't think I will get that from any other club in the world.

"I know how much the fans want this, I know how passionate they are. I know how much they are waiting for the club to come back again. I'm on the same ship as them. I want this ship; instead of being steady, I want it to go forward and to navigate as much as we can.

"Yeah, I won the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup [but] what this club wants, what these fans want and what I want, myself and the team, we haven't got that yet. Until my contract expires, I'm going to try."

The Portuguese midfielder further detailed the "unfinished business" that drove his decision to stay, even after the club finished in its lowest-ever Premier League position. Addressing the challenge of closing the gap on England's dominant forces, Fernandes told Neville: "The club was in a tough moment because we just lost a European final, [and] we finished the lowest in the Premier League United has ever done.

"Six years ago, the club trusted me to come here and believed I could help the club. At the time, my decision was made by [the fact that] I haven't fulfilled my dreams here. I haven't achieved everything I wanted. I've never hidden that I want to win the Premier League and the Champions League with the club. I might do it, I might not. But until I get the chance or until I'm here to do that, I'm going to try. Is it going to be difficult? Yes. You have top clubs in the league that have been winning the league for so many years and being consistently there and we're not."

The captain’s resolve will be immediately tested as United prepare for a pivotal Premier League encounter against Liverpool this Sunday, May 3. Victory in this historic rivalry is essential to keeping the club's Champions League qualification hopes alive for next season, providing the platform Fernandes needs to achieve his lofty goals. With the squad currently looking to bounce back from last year’s record-low finish, the upcoming run of games will determine if his title ambitions are realistic or a distant dream.