Al Hilal rule out fresh January approach for Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes

Al Hilal are not planning to renew their efforts to sign Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes during the January transfer window, according to English journalist Ben Jacobs.

Jacobs said reports linking the Saudi Pro League club with another attempt to recruit the Portugal international were inaccurate. He added that Al Hilal’s current squad has filled all of its allocated places for foreign players.

The clarification follows claims that Al Hilal were preparing a new offer worth up to 55 million euros to persuade Manchester United to sell their captain during the winter transfer window. There has been no official confirmation of those reports.

Fernandes was one of Al Hilal’s main targets during the summer of 2025. The club tried to complete a deal before the midfielder represented Manchester United at the FIFA Club World Cup.

The proposed package was reported to be worth close to £100m for Manchester United, while Fernandes would have received weekly wages of £700,000.

Despite the scale of the offer, the transfer did not go ahead. Fernandes later confirmed that Al Hilal had made an approach for him and revealed that Fahad bin Nafel, who was the club’s chairman at the time, had contacted him personally to establish whether he was interested in moving to the Saudi Pro League.

The latest reports of a renewed move have therefore been dismissed, with Jacobs pointing to the lack of available foreign-player places in Al Hilal’s squad.