Bruno Fernandes has been an outstanding performer throughout his time at Manchester United, but Manchester United are aware that they cannot guarantee him success in the Premier League.
Bruno Fernandes was previously linked with a move away from Manchester United (Image: Ash Donnellon, Manchester United via Getty Images)
Bruno Fernandes told Manchester United: “I can’t promise you we’ll win the Premier League,” but said he would be satisfied if they could show they can be competitive.
The Portuguese star has enjoyed one of his best seasons to date, topping every attacking metric as a playmaker and being tipped as one of the favorites for the individual award.
Fernandes had a period at United where he struggled to win big honours. The former Sporting Lisbon star has won just two trophies in over six years at the club, despite his individual performances exceeding those numbers.
The Manchester side have been battling for the title all season and Fernandes told his club not to commit to winning the Premier League, just to stay in contention.
He told the Telegraph: “What I always say to clubs is, ‘I can’t promise you that we’re going to win the Premier League. It’s impossible. But if you promise to be competitive and stay there until the end… that’s all I need to know, because it’s my responsibility to be the best version of myself and to help everyone around me to be the best version of themselves and to be the club we want to be.’
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Fernandes regularly reaches semi-finals and finals with United. He came close twice in the Europa League’s marquee games, the most recent last season, but went on to win the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
Even when he has a near miss, the 31-year-old doesn’t get angry because he’s content to be in it. “Everyone who comes to Man United wants to win every trophy,” he said. “Nobody comes to this club and thinks that we’re going to be competing for one or two trophies in six years. You want to fight for them all. Then we got to the final three times but didn’t win. That’s how things can happen.
Bruno Fernandes can overcome near miss knowing Man United are competing for trophies
“But at least you were there to fight. We were close. And what I said every time I spoke to the club, what I want from the time I’ve been here is that I want to compete, because if I compete, I’m closer to winning.”
Fernandes has been outstanding this season, registering 16 assists despite United’s struggles in the first half of the season. That ultimately led to the sacking of Ruben Amorim, and Michael Carrick took charge, leading to a major turnaround in form. The Red Devils now move up to third place and are in a good position to return to the Champions League.
Fernandes has been part of teams that have had great runs, but have been unable to continue down the track. He knows that’s the end goal.
“At the end of the day, it’s about what we do for next season, what we do during this period to become the team we’ve been in for a full season, because anyone can get better during that period. It’s much more difficult to be good throughout the season. And that’s something we haven’t been able to do, at least since I’ve been here. It was Ole[Gunnar Solskjær’s]second season, so we were very good up until January. And then from then on.” (Manchester) City just put their foot on the pedal and we ended up in second place. ”
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