The Portugal international playmaker reportedly snubbed an offer from Al-Hilal that would have made him one of the highest-paid players on the planet this week as he opts to stay at United who are coming off the back of their worst season in club history. The deal was said to be worth £700k-a-week, worth £100m to him over three years - and a £100m transfer fee to the Red Devils in what is a stunning decision.
Fans will love Fernandes' decision
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Neville opened up on the news that Fernandes has committed himself to the club despite being offered a deal that not many would turn down if handed to them.
“It's significant. I think that there was an element of this situation that meant United getting that level of money, for someone of Bruno's age, obviously, you couldn't say that it would have been a bad deal.
“But, on the other hand, Manchester United's star player - only player at times - for the last four, five, six years, has been Bruno Fernandes. He's so important.
“The fact that he wants to stay, the fact that he wants to go through this and come out the other side, because it would have been easy for him at the end of this season to say, 'Look, I'm done here', will endear him towards Manchester United fans even more.
“To turn that money down at a point where Manchester United are at their lowest ebb and say, "No, I want to fight through this, I want to see it through the other side, I want to come out and achieve things," I think it says a lot about him as a person, as a character.”
United need hard-working players
The 30-year-old has been weighing up a move to Saudi over the past couple of weeks, following United’s dire season which saw them close to the relegation zone as well as collapsing in the Europa League final against Tottenham. Neville understands the club needs to rebuild with players that will fit into manager Ruben Amorim’s system and will work hard no matter what.
'”They need players who are going to come in and hit the ground running and Cunha and Mbeumo have got obviously Premier League experience.
“I know that Ruben Amorim has this system where he plays these two players in behind a striker. If those two players are Mbeumo and Cunha then Manchester United will at least be able to travel quickly from deep positions into attacking positions because they can both run.
“We know the likes of Sancho, (Marcus) Rashford, Antony, and probably (Alejandro) Garnacho are going to leave, so they need definitely players in those positions.'