Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has turned down a proposed move to Saudi club Al Hilal because he wants “to play at the highest possible level”.

Fernandes confirmed on Tuesday that he had received an “exciting offer” from the Riyadh-based club to switch after what was a disappointing season for United.

“They waited for me to think about my future, because I said only if Manchester thought it was the time to move on that I’d be willing to do so,” Fernandes said through an interpreter.

“I talked to the gaffer, Ruben Amorim, and at the time he asked me not to go. I then talked to Man United. They said they didn’t want to sell me. If I wanted to go, I could, but they didn’t need the money; they didn’t need to sell me.”

100 million pounds offer

Media reports suggested Al Hilal was prepared to pay 100 million pounds ($135 million) to take the 30-year-old Fernandes from United while offering him a wage of 700,000 pounds ($946,000) per week to play for the Saudi Pro League team.

“It was a very exciting offer,” Fernandes said. “The president of Al Hilal, he was very nice to me. He talked to my manager, but then I talked to my wife, and as a family, we wanted to see what I wanted to do. She asked me, What do you want to do with your future?”

Fernandes last year signed a contract extension to stay at Old Trafford until June 2027.

This season did not go as planned, as the Red Devils failed to qualify for the Champions League after finishing 15th in the Premier League, while it also endured the heartbreak of losing the Europa League final to Tottenham.