Bruno Fernandes has turned down a huge offer from Al Hilal to remain at Manchester United.

Fernandes had been the subject of intense transfer speculation from Saudi Arabia and was widely expected to be the latest high-profile player to move East.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has now confirmed that the Manchester United skipper has decided to turn down the lucrative offer.

"Despite a crazy contract proposal from the Saudi Pro League club, Bruno Fernandes wants to continue playing football in Europe. Man United captain wants to play at the top level in Europe. Decision made."

Further reports indicate that Fernandes made the decision after consulting his family.

The Blue Waves are desperate to sign a marquee star after the departure of Neymar. The Brazilian's time in Saudi Arabia was hampered by constant injuries before a decision was made to terminate his contract.

Initially, Al Hilal wanted Mohamed Salah, who was on the tail-end of his contract at Liverpool, but the Egyptian made a u-turn and put to paper a new two-year deal to stay in Merseyside.

After missing out on the Saudi Pro League title, Al Hilal are keen on bolstering their squad ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup. They will play the record European champions Real Madrid, Mexican side Pachuca and Austrian side RB Salzburg in Group H.

To lure Fernandes, Al Hilal were ready to make the 30-year-old one of the best-paid players in the world.

He currently earns £250,000 per week at Manchester United, and Al Hilal offered a mammoth £700,000 per week in a three-year deal.

Let's break it down.

£700,000 (approximately KSh 122m) per week translates to £100,000 (approximately KSh 17m) per day.

This means that Fernandes would have raked in £4100 per hour (approximately KSh 715,000), £68 per minute (approximately KSh 11,800), which comes down to around £1.12 approximately KSh 196) per second.

As if that's not crazy enough, no income tax is levied on footballers' salaries in Saudi Arabia, which means the amount offered by the club would be tax-free. The United Kingdom has a standing tax rate of up to 47%, as reported by The Athletic.

Fernandes opened the door to his departure after the Europa League final loss to Tottenham, but left it to the club to decide.

"’I've always said I will be here until the club says to me that it’s time to go. I’m eager to do more, to be able to bring the club to great days. If the club thinks it’s time to part ways because they want to do some cash in or whatever, it’s what it is, and football sometimes is like this," he said.

In a separate story, Antony opened up on his challenges at Old Trafford.

The former Ajax winger was brought to tears when recalling his time at Man United before he was loaned out to Real Betis.

He revealed he went days without eating when times got difficult and told his brother he couldn't take it any more.

Source: TUKO.co.ke