Bruno Miguel Borges Fernandes (; born 8 September 1994) is a Portuguese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for club

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, which he

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

s, and the Portugal national team. Fernandes started his career at Italian

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

side

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

but soon made a move to

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

side

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

in 2013, followed by

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...

three years later. After five years in Italy, he signed with

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

in 2017. He won back-to-back Taças da Liga in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, as well as the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

, leading to him being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year and Primeira Liga Player of the Year in both seasons. In 2018–19, he scored a record of 33 goals in all competitions, making him the highest-scoring Portuguese midfielder and the highest-scoring midfielder in Europe in a single season. In January 2020, Fernandes signed with United for an initial €55 million (£47 million), becoming at the time the second-highest fee for a Portuguese player leaving the domestic league. He became a focal player for United, making more than 250 appearances for the club in the next five years. Collectively, he has won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

and

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

; he also contributed to the club reaching the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

final in 2021 and 2025 and the FA Cup final in 2023. Individually, he was named the FSA Men's Player of the Year Award in 2020 and was the Europa League top scorer in 2019–20 and 2024–25. Fernandes is a former Portugal youth international, representing his country at under-19, under-20, under-21 and under-23 levels. He represented Portugal at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. He made his senior international debut in 2017, being chosen in Portugal's squads for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, the

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, and the UEFA Nations League Finals in

and

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, winning the latter competition both times while also being named to its Team of the Tournament on home soil in 2019.

Early life

Fernandes was born in

Maia Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; ), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus. Family Maia is the daughter of A ...

Metropolitan Area of Porto The Porto Metropolitan Area (; abbreviated as AMP) is a metropolitan area in northern Portugal centered on the City of Porto, Portugal's second largest city.Fernanda Paula Oliveira (2009), The metropolitan area, covering 17 municipalities, is th ...

. Growing up, he supported Boavista and

. During his childhood, Fernandes used to play football on the streets with his older brother Ricardo, who was also a professional football player. His father, who had emigrated to Switzerland, wanted Fernandes to move with him, but he refused, due to the standard of Swiss football at the time.

Club career

Early career

Fernandes began his youth career at local club Infesta. Growing up, Fernandes was offered a youth contract at

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

's academy, but he went to local rivals Boavista, who offered him transportation to training, with his parents being unable to take him to

on a daily basis. Fernandes played most of his youth football with Boavista, starting his career as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, before being converted to an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

at the age of 15, following a loan to Pasteleira.

Spell in Italy

Novara (2012–2013)

On 27 August 2012, he joined

in Italy. Fernandes initially struggled in his new life in Italy, after suffering from homesickness and also had problems learning Italian. After his girlfriend moved to Italy, Fernandes quickly learned the language and began settling in the country, being nicknamed the " Maradona of Novara" and the "Mini

Rui Costa Rui Manuel César Costa (; born 29 March 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who is the 34th president of sports club S.L. Benfica. He also succeeded Luís Filipe Vieira as president of the club's SAD board of directors. ...

". After only a few weeks with the youth sides, Fernandes was promoted to the first team in

, and went on to appear in slightly more than half of the league games during the 2012–13 season, helping his team to fifth place and the promotion play-offs.

Udinese and Sampdoria (2013–2017)

In summer 2013,

clubs

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

and

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

wanted to sign him, but instead, Fernandes decided to sign for

in a co-ownership deal, who promised him first-team opportunities. He made his debut in Serie A on 3 November, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–3 home loss against Inter Milan. Fernandes scored his first league goal on 7 December, in a 3–3 draw at

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

. He scored again in the second match between the sides in a 1–1 draw. On 16 August 2016, Fernandes moved to

on loan with an obligation to be signed permanently. He made his league debut twelve days later, playing six minutes in a 2–1 home win over

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

. Fernandes scored his first goal for his new team on 26 September, in a 1–2 away loss to

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

. He scored five goals in 33 Serie A appearances during the campaign, helping them to finish in tenth position.

Sporting CP

2017–2018: Primeira Liga Player of the Year

On 27 June 2017, after returning from the

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

, Fernandes joined

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

on a five years deal, for a reported fee of €8.5 million plus bonuses. On 6 August, Fernandes made his debut for the club in a 2–0 home victory against

Desportivo das Aves Clube Desportivo das Aves (), commonly known as Desportivo das Aves, or simply as Aves, was a Portuguese football club based in Vila das Aves, Santo Tirso. The club was founded on 12 November 1930 and plays at the Estádio do Clube Desportivo ...

. He scored four goals in his first five

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

games, including a brace in a 5–0 away win against

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

. Fernandes' first appearance in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

group stage was on 12 September, where he put the visitors 3–0 ahead in the 43rd minute of an eventual 3–2 win at

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

. He finished his first season with 16 goals across all competitions, second only to

Bas Dost Bas Leon Dost (; born 31 May 1989) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker. Having begun his career at FC Emmen in the Eerste Divisie, Dost later played in the Eredivisie for Heracles Almelo and SC Heerenveen. In 2012, after ...

and provided 20 assists, being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year and Primeira Liga Player of the Year. On 15 May 2018, Fernandes and several of his teammates, including coaches, were injured following an attack by around 50 Sporting supporters at the club's training ground after the team finished third in the league and missed out on Champions League qualification. Despite the events, the team agreed to play in the final of the

scheduled for the following weekend, eventually losing to Desportivo das Aves. Fernandes was named the Primeira Liga Player of the Year on 6 July. Four days later he signed a new five-year contract with a €100 million release clause, having turned back on his original decision to leave the

Estádio José Alvalade The Estádio José Alvalade (; ') is a Football (soccer), football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was built adjacent to the site of the Estádio José Alvalade (1956), older stadium. The stadium is named afte ...

following the departure of club president

Bruno de Carvalho Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologn ...

, and being given an improved salary in the process.

2018–2020: Highest-scoring midfielder in Europe

Fernandes scored his 23rd competitive goal of the 2018–19 campaign during a 3–1 home win against Portimonense on 3 March 2019, through a late

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

, surpassing António Oliveira's club record for goals by a midfielder in a season, set in 1981–82. On 5 May, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in an 8–1 away rout of

Belenenses SAD B-SAD was a Portuguese football club currently based in Almada, founded on 30 June 2018 as an independent entity. An offshoot of Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, they played four seasons in the Primeira Liga, being relegated to the Liga Portugal ...

, in the process becoming the highest-scoring Portuguese midfielder in a single season of all time, with 31 goals to his name. He scored his 33rd and final goal of the season on 25 May 2019, during Sporting's victory against Porto in the Taça de Portugal final. He was named Primeira Liga Player of the Year for the second successive year for his performances in the 2018–19 season. He scored seven goals in his first 10 appearances of the 2019–20 season, including a run of scoring in six consecutive appearances. This made him the third Sporting player in the 21st century to score in six or more consecutive appearances for the club, after

Mário Jardel Mário Jardel de Almeida Ribeiro (; born 18 September 1973) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was most noted for his positioning on the field and his heading ability. In spite of only representing Gr� ...

and Bas Dost. On 28 November, he scored twice and assisted the other two goals in a 4–0 victory over

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

, which guaranteed Sporting qualification to the knockout stages of the

Manchester United

2019–2020: Europa League top scorer

On 29 January 2020, English club Manchester United confirmed they had reached an agreement with Sporting for the transfer of Fernandes for a fee reportedly worth up to €80 million (£67.6 million), subject to the player passing a medical and agreeing personal terms. The transfer was officially completed the following day, for an initial fee of around €55 million (£47 million), plus up to €25 million (£21 million) in add-ons and 10% of the profits should United ever sell Fernandes. Fernandes signed a five-and-a-half-year contract. He made his debut on 1 February, playing the full 90 minutes of a goalless draw at home to

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. In Manchester United's 2–0 away win over Chelsea on 17 February, he provided an assist for the second goal, a header from

Harry Maguire Jacob Harry Maguire (born 5 March 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Manchester United and the England national team. Maguire came through the youth system at Sheffield United before graduating t ...

. Fernandes came on as a late substitute for Manchester United against Club Brugge in a 1–1 draw on his European debut for the club. He scored his first goal for Manchester United against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

on 23 February, converting from the penalty spot in an eventual 3–0 victory at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, a match in which he also provided an assist for the third goal scored by

Mason Greenwood Mason Will John Greenwood (born 1 October 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Marseille. A graduate of Manchester United's youth system, Greenwood scored in a UEFA Europa League match against As ...

. His first European goal for the club came in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie against

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

at Old Trafford, in which he scored a penalty, helping them to a 5–0 victory. On 16 March, Fernandes was voted as the

Premier League Player of the Month The Premier League Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League player each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 1 ...

for February. On 30 June, Fernandes scored his first brace for the club in a 3–0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. For his performances in June, he won multiple club and Premier League awards, including Premier League Player of the Month and Goal of the Month, becoming the first player to win both awards concurrently in Premier League history. He also became the first Manchester United player to win back to back Premier League Player of the Month awards since

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

in the 2006–07 season. In September, Fernandes was named as the winner of Manchester United's Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award, given to the club's best player from the previous season.

2020–2021: Individual success and Europa League final

On 26 September, Fernandes scored his first goal of the season against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

in the 100th minute of a 3–2 win at the Amex Stadium; it was one of the latest goals in Premier League history, and came after referee Chris Kavanagh had blown the final whistle, before a

video assistant referee The video assistant referee (VAR) is a Assistant referee (association football), match official in association football who assists the referee by reviewing decisions using video footage and providing advice to the referee based on those revi ...

awarded United a penalty which Fernandes converted. On 7 November, Fernandes scored a brace and provided an assist against Everton to secure a 3–1 away win. He was named Premier League Player of the Month for November in recognition of his four goals and one assist that month, and again in December after scoring three goals and providing four assists in that month, becoming the first player to win the award four times in a single calendar year. He scored one goal and made two assists in United's Premier League record-equalling 9–0 home win against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

on 2 February 2021. He finished third in terms of top goalscorers in the league with 18 goals and second among the top assist providers with 12. In April, a day after Manchester United had announced their plan to quit the UEFA Champions League to join the

European Super League The Unify League (UL), previously known as the European Super League (ESL), was a proposed seasonal football competition for clubs in Europe. It was supposed to be organised by the European Super League Company, S.L., a commercial enterprise ...

along with 11 other clubs, Fernandes became the first potential European Super League player to comment on this, stating his disapproval: "Dreams can't be ought" By the next day, Manchester United withdrew from the European Super League, which was also announced to be "suspended" that day, amid a backlash from players, managers, football institutions, politicians, fans and the media. On 29 April, he scored twice and assisted two more goals in a 6–2 home win over

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

in the first leg of the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

semi-finals; and provided an assist in a 3–2 defeat in the return leg, which allowed United to advance to the final 8–5 on aggregate. On 18 May, he was named as the winner of the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award for the second successive season. On 26 May, Manchester United drew 1–1 against

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

after extra-time, in the Europa League Final, but eventually lost on penalties, despite Fernandes netting his spot kick in the shoot-out.

2021–2022: Champions League top assist provider

On 14 August, in the opening match of the Premier League season, Fernandes scored a hat-trick against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

in a 5–1 win. He then scored in the team's next home game against Newcastle United, before missing a last minute penalty against Aston Villa two weeks later that would have salvaged a 1–1 draw. He later posted an apology for his penalty miss on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. On 23 November, Fernandes provided an assist for

Jadon Sancho Jadon Malik Sancho (born 25 March 2000) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger for Premier League club Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, on loan from Manchester United F.C., Manches ...

in United's 2–0 victory away against Villarreal in the Champions League, to ensure his team qualification to the

round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

, becoming the first player to provide an assist in five consecutive matches of a Champions League campaign for an English club. On 2 December, Fernandes made his 100th appearance for the club, opening the scoring in United's 3–2 home win over

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

at Old Trafford. On 1 April 2022, Fernandes signed a new contract which would keep him at Manchester United until June 2026, with the option of a further year. On 2 May, he scored his 50th goal for Manchester United in the club's 3–0 home win over

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

. His performances declined during the season, with Fernandes alongside his teammates struggling and under-performing and with United supporters becoming increasingly frustrated by Fernandes' complaints to referees during matches, and with the club finishing a disappointing sixth place, qualifying for the UEFA Europa League, despite Fernandes being the top assist provider in the

2021–22 UEFA Champions League The 2021–22 UEFA Champions League was the 67th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 30th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid de ...

, with seven assists in total.

2022–2023: Ending the trophy drought

On 1 July 2022, Manchester United announced that they had changed Fernandes' squad number from 18 to his preferred number 8, the same number he wore during his time for Sporting CP and as a tribute to his birth date and his father, upon the departure of

Juan Mata Juan Manuel Mata García (born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League Men club Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Western Sydney Wanderers. He primarily plays as an attacking ...

, after his contract expired. Fernandes scored his first goal of the season on 27 August in a 1–0 away win against Southampton. On 3 January 2023, Fernandes made his 150th appearance for the club, assisting

Marcus Rashford Marcus Rashford (born 31 October 1997) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa, on Loan (association football), lo ...

's goal in United's 3–0 home win over

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

. Two weeks later, he was instrumental in United's 2–1 comeback win over

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in the

Manchester derby The Manchester derby refers to association football, football matches between Manchester City F.C., Manchester City and Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the City of Manchester Stadium in Bradford, ...

, scoring a goal that was part of the build-up play for United's controversial equaliser despite Rashford being in an offside position, helping United to extend their winning run to nine in all competitions. On 18 January, Fernandes scored in a 1–1 away draw to

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

, registering his 100th goal contribution for the club. He also became the Manchester United midfielder with the second most goal contributions in the Premier League, only behind

Paul Scholes Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football pundit, coach and former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Scholes spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom h ...

. On 26 February, Fernandes started in the

2023 EFL Cup final The 2023 EFL Cup final was the final of the 2022–23 EFL Cup. It was played between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium in London on 26 February 2023. This was Newcastle's first final since the 1999 FA Cup final, in which ...

as Manchester United beat

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

2–0 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, winning his first trophy with the club. Fernandes created the most chances (119) in the

2022–23 Premier League The 2022–23 Premier League was the 31st season of the Premier League and the 124th season of top-flight English football overall. Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest were the three promoted clubs from the 2021–22 EFL Championship, re ...

, the highest on record since 2003–04 by a Manchester United player in a single campaign. United qualified for the

2023–24 UEFA Champions League The 2023–24 UEFA Champions League was the 69th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 32nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid CF ...

after securing a third-place finish in the Premier League. In the 2023 FA Cup final, Fernandes equalised for United through a penalty in an eventual 2–1 defeat to local rivals Manchester City.

2023–present: Club captaincy and FA Cup win

On 20 July 2023, Fernandes was named as Harry Maguire's replacement as

club captain The captain of a football/soccer team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team; they are often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influ ...

. On 26 August, Fernandes scored his first goal of the season, netting a penalty, and also assisting

Casemiro Carlos Henrique Casimiro (born 23 February 1992), also known mononymously as Casemiro , is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the ...

in a 3–2 comeback win over

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. The following months, United endured a difficult start to the season, most notably in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

and Champions League, finishing last in their group. Fernandes' captaincy came under scrutiny, despite being the football player who played the most minutes in world football, with 72 games and 6,666 minutes dating from 15 September 2022 to 2023. In January 2024, during the winter

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, Fernandes was the recipient of a contract offer worth €100 million from

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

side Al-Hilal. If he had accepted the offer, he would have joined his national teammate Rúben Neves, as well as former manager

Jorge Jesus Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. Most recently he was the manager of Saudi Professional League, Saudi P ...

, who was keen on signing him. However, the deal was eventually turned down by Fernandes, who felt he had unfinished business at United, stating that he was "happy ..focused on Man United". On 7 April 2024, Fernandes scored his 50th Premier League goal from in a 2–2 draw against United's

arch rivals ''Arch Rivals'' is a basketball video game released by Midway for arcades in 1989. Billed by Midway as "A Basket Brawl", the game features two-on-two full court basketball games in which players are encouraged to punch opposing players and st ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

at Old Trafford. He was then named Manchester United Player of the Month for April after scoring seven goals in six appearances that month. On 23 May, Fernandes won the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, becoming a three-time recipient of the award. In the 2024 FA Cup final against local rivals Manchester City, Fernandes assisted

Kobbie Mainoo Kobbie Boateng Mainoo (; born 19 April 2005) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the England national football team, England national team. ...

's goal in an eventual 2–1 win for United, winning his second trophy with the club and his first as club captain. After the match, pundit and former United midfielder

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, former coach, and former professional player. He is best known for his career in the Premier League, in particular his captaincy of Manchester United. He is the joint most ...

praised Fernandes: "I've been critical of Bruno over the years, but I've been proven wrong, his leadership was outstanding. I've always mentioned how brilliant he is as a player." In July, Fernandes was linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, with two clubs in the Saudi Pro League interested in him, but these rumours were dispelled in August when his contract with Manchester United was extended to 30 June 2027. On 29 September, Fernandes was sent off for a high challenge on

James Maddison James Daniel Maddison (born 23 November 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team. Maddison began his career with Coventry City before joining ...

in United's 3–0 loss to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. However, on 1 October, the red card was overturned by

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

, following a successful claim of wrongful dismissal by the referee. On 3 October, he was sent off for the second time in five days when he received two yellow cards in a 3–3 draw with

in the UEFA Europa League. This made him the first Manchester United player to be sent off in consecutive matches since

Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French former professional footballer who is currently an actor. In his football career Eric Cantona was a physically strong, hard-working and tenacious player. He combined technical skill a ...

in March 1994. He made his 250th appearance for the club on 11 November, scoring the opening goal and assisting

Alejandro Garnacho Alejandro Garnacho Ferreyra (born 1 July 2004) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger for Premier League club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the Argentina national ...

in a 3–0 win against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. In the 2–0 loss to

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

on 26 December, Fernandes received his third red card this season. At the same time, he became the first Manchester United player to receive 3 red cards in a season in the past 16 years, since Nemanja Vidic in the 2008–09 season. On 13 March, Fernandes scored a hat-trick against

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

in a 4–1 second leg of the round of 16 in the UEFA Europa League, with a final score line of 5–2 across the two-legged tie. His performances in March, with two goals and two assists, including a 'sensational' direct free-kick against

earned Fernandes his fifth

award.

International career

2012–2017: Youth level

With the Portugal under-20s, Fernandes took participated in the

2014 Toulon Tournament The 2014 Toulon Tournament was the 42nd edition of the Toulon Tournament. The competition took place between 21 May and 1 June 2014 mostly in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of South Eastern France. Brazil national under-20 football team, B ...

. In this competition, he played four out, scoring against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

in a group stage match, helping Portugal to a third-place finish. Fernandes represented

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

at under-19, under-20, under-21 and under-23 levels, for a total of 28

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

. Prior to his international debut, he was named

of the under-21 team by coach Rui Jorge. He scored four goals and provided four assist in Portugal under-21s qualification campaign, helping them to qualify for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. In June, Fernandes took part in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, helping Portugal to a group stage finish, and scoring a goal against

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

in the opening match. Fernandes represented

in the

. He started every game, as the team reached the quarter-finals.

2017–2018: Senior and World Cup debuts

Overlooked for selection by Portugal during his spell in Italy, Fernandes was first chosen on 28 August 2017, replacing the injured Pizzi for World Cup qualifiers against the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

to be played the next month, although he did not play in either match. Fernandes won his first full cap on 10 November 2017, replacing Manuel Fernandes for the last 34 minutes of the 3–0 friendly win over

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Viseu Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the Viseu District, district of the same name, with a population of 100,105 inhabitants in the entire municipality, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões Interm ...

. He was then selected by Fernando Santos for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

in Russia. He scored his first goal on 7 June with a header in the last warm-up match before the tournament, a 3–0 defeat of

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, Ben ...

. Fernandes' first World Cup game took place on 15 June, when he played 66 minutes in a 3–3 group stage draw against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, being booked in the process. On 30 June, Portugal were eliminated following a 2–1 defeat to

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

in the last 16.

2018–2021: Nations League title and subsequent struggles

Fernandes was selected for three matches in the league phase of the

2018–19 UEFA Nations League The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The league phase of the competition ...

group stage, helping the hosts Portugal qualify to the inaugural Nations League Finals in June 2019. In the UEFA Nations League Finals, Fernandes played both matches as Portugal defeated the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

1–0 in Porto to win the trophy. For his performances throughout the competition, he was named in the "Team of the Tournament". Fernandes was named in Portugal's final squad for the delayed

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

tournament, appearing in all games of the eventual round of 16 exit. Fernandes went on to be criticised for his performances during the tournament as he struggled to replicate his club form for Portugal. After being heavily fatigued and overshadowed by other teammates, he was dropped from the starting line-up for the final group stage match as Portugal failed to qualify for the round of 16.

2022–present: National team breakthrough

On 29 March 2022, Fernandes scored both goals in Portugal's 2–0 win over

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

in the final of the World Cup qualification play-offs to ensure Portugal's qualification for the 2022 tournament in Qatar. BFernandesWC22

In October, he was named in Portugal's preliminary 55-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, being included in the final 26-man squad for the tournament. On 25 November, Fernandes provided two assists in Portugal's 3–2 group stage win against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. Three days later, Fernandes scored both of Portugal's goals in a 2–0 victory over Uruguay, securing his team's qualification to the knockout stages. On 6 December, he provided an assist for

Pepe Pepe is a pet form of the Spanish and Portuguese name José (Joseph). It is also a surname. * People Mononyms *Pepe (footballer, born 1935), Brazilian footballer José Macia *Pepe (footballer, born 1983), Brazilian-born Portuguese footballer ...

, who scored Portugal's second goal in a thrashing 6–1 win in the round of 16 match against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and became the second-oldest player to ever score in the tournament. Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing 1–0 to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. Despite Portugal's elimination, Fernandes finished the tournament as the joint-top assister with three assists. His World Cup form continued during the

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

qualifiers in March, providing two assists and a brace against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

in a 3–0 win on 17 June. On 8 September, on his 29th birthday, Fernandes scored the only goal of an away win over

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. On 11 September, he scored a goal and provided a hat-trick of assists in a 9–0 home defeat of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, the former's biggest win in international history. In the reverse fixture against Slovakia, on 13 November, Fernandes provided a brace of assists in a 3–2 win, leading Portugal to qualify for

Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by U ...

, marking the nation's fastest qualification to a major tournament in their history. Fernandes finished the qualifying campaign as the top assister with eight assists, with Portugal topping their qualifying group, and setting a new national team record of ten consecutive wins. On 21 May 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for the

. On 22 June, Fernandes scored Portugal's third goal in a 3–0 win against

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, securing his country's qualification to the

knockout phase A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

. In Portugal's

match against

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

, he played the full 120 minutes and scored the team's second kick of the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

which they won 3–0. Portugal were eliminated in the quarter-finals to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

after losing 5–3 in another penalty shootout.

Player profile

Style of play

, Fernandes is a direct, energetic

box-to-box In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

who is capable of both taking on defenders and setting the rhythm of play. Directness also means that Fernandes tends to take a lot of risks with the type and level of passes he attempts to complete. However, despite being prone to turnovers, he typically presses the opposition right after losing possession. Fernandes boasts a prolific goalscoring record from the midfield position. He frequently shoots from outside the penalty area and is an accurate free-kick and

taker. His movement off the ball is also key, with him often roaming around the attacking areas of the pitch, or dropping deep to pick up possession. As well as operating in the attacking midfielder role, he can also operate in a deeper

central midfield In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

role, or as a

second striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

. During his time at Manchester United, under

Erik ten Hag Erik ten Hag ( ; born 2 February 1970) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He will become the head coach of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen on 1 July 2025. Ten Hag played as a centre-back and began his career with Ere ...

, Fernandes also played on the

right wing Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position b ...

on many occasions, due to his crossing ability, which made him an effective assist provider.

Reception and image

Regarding his creative and goalscoring ability, Manchester City manager

Pep Guardiola Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (; born 18 January 1971) is a Catalans, Catalan professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player from Spain who has been the manager of club Manchester City F.C., Ma ...

once said "Bruno's influence is outstanding. Unbelievable. Today saw a few games, the last games and I said: 'this guy's creativity is one of the best I've ever seen'." In 2023, Manchester City and Belgian midfielder

Kevin De Bruyne Kevin De Bruyne (; born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club SSC Napoli, Napoli and captains the Belgium national football team, Belgium national team. After spending mos ...

rated him as the best player in his position in Premier League commenting, "I think he's ernandesa creative machine and just in general." former Manchester United defender

Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for TNT Sports. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and ...

commented that Fernandes "is a player who knows how to create chances .. who can for bit of imagination, creativity, the patience around the box, the ability to hit a ball from the edge of the box an put in the back of net, ..manipulate and take ball". Ferdinand also praised his leadership abilities, stating "he was one of the players in the game that lead's by example". Former Manchester United coach

Ole Gunnar Solskjær Ole Gunnar Solskjær (; born 26 February 1973) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who currently manages Süper Lig club Beşiktaş. He spent the majority of his playing career with Manchester United and made 67 appea ...

stated that Fernandes was a "bit of a mix between

and

Juan Sebastián Verón Juan Sebastián Verón (; born 9 March 1975) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current chairman of Estudiantes de La Plata, where he had served as Director of Sports. In 2004, Verón was included in the FIFA 100 list of the 125 ...

". Fernandes goalscoring abilities have also drew comparisons with former Chelsea midfielder

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of English club Coventry City. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, one of Chelsea's greates ...

, after breaking his record of being the highest-scoring midfielder in Europe in a single season. During his career, Fernandes has faced criticism for his on-field behavior, particularly regarding his body language and emotional reactions. Pundits such as

Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit, former coach and player, and co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. As a player, Neville was a right-back and spent his entire career with Manches ...

and

have criticised his tendency to complain to referees, wave his arms in frustration, and visibly criticise teammates during matches. Neville has described his behavior as "petulant" and suggested that such actions are unhelpful for a captain tasked with leading by example. Similarly, Keane has questioned Fernandes' leadership qualities, criticizing him for "moaning and whinging" when the team was struggling, arguing that a captain should display resilience and composure. Despite his significant contributions on the pitch, critics argue that his emotional outbursts and confrontational approach undermine his leadership and set a negative tone for the team.

Goal celebration

Fernandes has adopted a particular goalscoring celebration throughout his career: after scoring a goal, he usually celebrates by covering his ears with both of his hands, as a tribute to his daughter, who covers her ears pretending not to hear him.

Sponsorship

Fernandes is sponsored by sportswear company

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

. He wears Nike Mercurial Vapor

boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

Personal life

When Fernandes moved to Italy at age 18 to join Novara, he was joined there by childhood sweetheart Ana Pinho; they married in 2015. The couple have a daughter (January 2017) and a son (September 2020). He has tattoos on both of his arms with the number 8, in which he tributes to his birth date and to his father, who was also a footballer and wore the number 8 shirt, during his playing career, the letter F symbolising his surname and the number 23 as a tribute to his debut with the Portugal national football team, when he was aged 23. Fernandes is multilingual; apart from his native Portuguese, he is fluent in Spanish, English, and Italian. He also speaks some French. Fernandes also has a brother named Ricardo who plays in the ninth tier of English football for

Roffey Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Portugal score listed first, score column indicates score after each Fernandes goal.''

Honours

Sporting CP *

: 2018–19 *

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

: 2017–18, 2018–19 Manchester United *

: 2023–24; runner-up:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

runner-up:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, 2024–25 Portugal *

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

: 2018–19, 2024–25 Individual *

SJPF Young Player of the Month The SJPF Young Player of the Month (often called Portuguese League Young Player of the Month) is an association football award that recognizes the best Portuguese League young player each month of the season and is conceived by the SJPF (syndicat ...

: August 2017, September 2017, October/November 2017, February 2018, April 2018 *

Player of the Month: August 2017, September 2017, April 2018, December 2018, February 2019, March 2019, April 2019 *Primeira Liga Goal of the Month: August 2017, September 2017 *Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2017–18, 2018–19 *

LPFP Primeira Liga Player of the Year The Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (English: Portuguese Professional Football League), also known by its acronym LPFP, is a governing body that manages professional football club competitions in Portugal. It was founded in 1978 as Liga Po ...

: 2017–18, 2018–19 *

Top scorer: 2018–19 (6 goals) *UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2017–18, 2019–20,

Team of the Season: 2024–25 * UEFA Europa League Top scorer: 2019–20, 2024–25 * Sporting CP Footballer of the Year: 2018, 2019 * CNID Footballer of the Year: 2019 *UEFA Nations League Finals Team of the Tournament:

* PFA Fans' Premier League Player of the Month: February 2020, June/July 2020 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

2020–21 Premier League The 2020–21 Premier League was the 29th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 1992 and the 122nd season of top-flight English football overall. The season w ...

: February 2020, June 2020, November 2020, December 2020, March 2025 * Premier League Goal of the Month: June 2020, February 2021, September 2023 * Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 2019–20,

, 2023–24, 2024–25 * Manchester United Players' Player of the Year: 2024–25 *Manchester United Goal of the Season: 2020–21 (vs. Everton, 6 February 2021) * FSA Men's Player of the Year Award: 2020 * ESM Team of the Year: 2020–21

References

External links

Profile
at Manchester United F.C. website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandes, Bruno 1994 births Living people Footballers from Maia, Portugal Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Novara FC players Udinese Calcio players UC Sampdoria players Sporting CP footballers Manchester United F.C. players Serie B players Serie A players Primeira Liga players Premier League players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Olympic footballers for Portugal Portugal men's international footballers Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2024 players UEFA Nations League–winning players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Italy Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen