Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC, the Portugal captain described the scale of the offer — worth around £700,000 per week tax-free — before explaining why it never seriously tempted him.
"I stayed because I thought I still had something that I can give back to the club. Obviously the Saudi situation, with the money — there was a lot. The good thing I have in my family is that my wife is pretty down to earth like me. We're very aware that we don't want to be the richest person in the world."
"The words of my wife were like, 'have you achieved your dreams? Have you achieved everything you wanted?' And that small thing she said made me understand that she's on the same page as me. Let's keep trying and see where this takes me."
Fernandes also spoke about Michael Carrick's impact since returning to Old Trafford in January, saying he had long believed the interim head coach was ready for the top job.
"He had three games as a manager [in 2021]. The way he prepared for the games and the way he spoke to us made you think he was more than an assistant manager. He was ready for the next step."
"When he came in, he had the positive energy the team needed. Very quickly we changed to, 'it didn't work out, let's turn on to the other one and push to achieve what we want this season'. When Michael came in, we never thought at this moment, we would be third."
Fernandes' contract expires in June 2027. Manchester United have told him they want him to remain at the club regardless of the outcome of the summer managerial appointment.