Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has admitted he was disappointed when Declan Rice rejected a move to Old Trafford in favour of Arsenal.
Rice completed a £105 million transfer from West Ham United to Arsenal in 2023 and has since established himself as one of Mikel Arteta’s most influential players.
Fernandes revealed that he believed the England midfielder would have been the ideal signing for Manchester United, who have spent several seasons searching for stability in midfield.
Speaking on JoelBeyaTV, the Portuguese midfielder said: “I’ve always said, Rice was a player to play for Man United.
“I was really sad when he chose to go to Arsenal.
“I always thought he would be a perfect fit for our club.”
Rice has played a major role in Arsenal’s rise in recent seasons, becoming one of the Premier League’s standout midfielders with his defensive quality, leadership and consistency.
Despite missing out on Rice, Fernandes has enjoyed another outstanding individual campaign at Manchester United.
The 31-year-old recently won the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award after recording 19 league assists this season.
The Portugal international is now one assist away from matching the Premier League single-season record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
Reacting to the award, Fernandes described the recognition as special.
He said: “Obviously it’s always nice to see a lot of people have voted for you and I know this is a massive award in the UK and for me it’s very special to do it.
“It also comes from people who follow football from all around the UK, people who work in the background behind the players and it makes it very special.”
Fernandes added: “Of course, you like to see good things out there about you – you don’t like it as much when it’s not so good – but it’s part of the job.
“Obviously when these moments come, I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be here on behalf of the people who voted for me and also the ones who didn’t vote for me and who made other choices.
“We know, as I’ve said before, it’s a collective job what we do but when individually you get recognised for what you’ve done during the season it feels very special.”
