At one point this summer it felt as though Bruno Fernandes would be bidding farewell to Manchester United amid interest from Saudi Arabia. There was a £100million offer from Al-Hilal and the lure was tempting. In the end, Fernandes opted against the switch and United retained their captain and arguably their most influential player. The threat of losing a big name in the prime of his career was a real one for United and it is an issue the club, and others in the Premier League may well have to contend with again in the future. Al-Hilal, who are in Club World Cup action against Real Madrid tonight, have made no secret of their desire to attract the best talent from across the world - and don't see the top flight as off limits. "We are targeting the biggest players," said the club's Chief Executive Officer Esteve Calzada of their transfer strategy, speaking from the States ahead of their fixture against Xabi Alonso's side. And while he didn't comment on Fernandes specifically, he added: "He's a big player, it fits the profile of player that we think would be good for Al-Hilal, just like many others. We're not refraining from contacting players because we feel they would say no to us. "The names we are linked with demonstrate the ambition of the club. We believe that we are in a position to pitch [to] any players nowadays. "We are very ambitious, but we need to see hunger from the player himself and the transaction needs to work out both ways. "The only thing we've been trying to remind players and agents is that yes, we are from Saudi, but we don't print notes here. "My role as CEO is to make sure we run the club efficiently, so that we can have the biggest budget possible to have big players, but not at any cost. "That's why sometimes we basically walk away from negotiations, because we still want players extremely keen on coming, and not only looking for the money." But the money still talks, and it might be asking further questions of Manchester United in the months and years to come. --- Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories. And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast, featuring The Samuel Luckhurst Show and The Midweek Debate. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts , and you can also watch along on YouTube .