The 31-year-old has long been the subject of transfer speculation, with the Saudi Pro League known to have been keen to make him another marquee signing.
Carrick's arrival has been pivotal for Man Utd
Indeed, 12 months ago, when United were at a real low point, the likelihood that the club captain would leave seemed closer than ever.
Ultimately, he decided to stay at the club, with a proviso that he would clearly be keeping his options open.
With the arrival of Michael Carrick, everything seemed to have changed, and not just for Bruno.
The former United midfielder appeared to take things back to basics, worked with what he had, and didn't try to put square pegs in round holes, as previous managerial incumbent Ruben Amorim did with alarming regularity.
A successful end to the 2025/26 season saw United playing the free-flowing attacking football for which they'd long been renowned, and qualification back into the Champions League was a just reward for their turnaround in fortunes.
New Premier League assists record
Getting Bruno, who is now in the final year of his current deal, to take up the one-year option available - at the very least - has to be seen as another success for Carrick and Co., too.
Though he's had his fair share of critics, and none more so than former United captain Roy Keane, it's obvious how important Bruno is to the way the Red Devils play.
During 25/26 alone, he broke the Premier League record for assists in a single season, his 21 surpassing the record previously held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. He also weighed in with nine goals and hit the woodwork on a further five occasions.
Of course, his contributions were about much more than that, though.
Incredible creativity
With 3,201 minutes played across the various competitions last season, only Luke Shaw (3,231 minutes) could top Bruno in that regard. Shaw was also the only player to play 38 games across the campaign, all of which he started.
The nine fast breaks that Bruno made placed him second to Bryan Mbeumo (11), whilst a 44.83% shot accuracy and 10% shot conversion rate were also laudable from the attacking midfielder.
Where Bruno has always excelled, of course, is with regard to his creativity.
An astonishing 142 chances created is almost 100 more than any of his teammates, whilst 2,128 total passes, 1,747 of which were accurate - both the best in the United squad - gave him a solid pass completion of 82.1%.
94 corners taken and 79 crosses attempted topped another metric, though Bruno himself would arguably want to see an improvement in 30.57% accuracy.
Leading by example
Keane likes to espouse that in order to be a true leader, one has to be willing to lead by example, including in the more physical aspects of the game, and here too, Bruno certainly doesn't shirk his responsibilities.
Just four United players contested more than the Portuguese's 283 one-on-one duels, 130 of which he won for a 45.94% success rate.
No one in the squad could top the winning back of possession on 175 separate occasions, and 58 tackles attempted was the third-best output, so for all of the perceived criticism of that side of Bruno's game, he ticks most of the boxes that he needs to.
Indeed, one only has to imagine what a United XI would look like without him in it, to perfectly understand his importance to it.
It isn't clear at this point if either player or club will be happy to extend the association beyond the further 12 months of his current deal, as he would be approaching 34 by then, but that's something for the future.
For now, the Red Devils approach a new season under Carrick with top-level European football back at Old Trafford, and Bruno will absolutely play his part in any successes the club earn over the course of the 2026/27 season.