Bruno Fernandez Biography; Portuguese-Manchester United Stats
Bruno Miguel Borges Fernandes was born in Maia, Portugal on September 8th, 1994. He is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and captains Manchester United and the Portugal national team.
Bruno can also, play as a Central Midfielder (CM), Right Winger (RW), or even Defensive Midfielder (DM). Fernandes is now 29 years old, 179 cm tall and his preferred foot is right. Bruno Fernandes wears the number 8 shirt for both club and country.
Fernandes while growing up, was a fan of Boavista and Manchester United football clubs. Fernandes often played football with his older brother Ricardo, who was also a professional football player. His father had emigrated to Switzerland and wanted Fernandes to move with him, but Fernandes refused due to the low standard of Swiss football at the time.
When Fernandes was 18, he moved to Italy to join Novara. He was accompanied by his childhood sweetheart, Ana Pinho, who he later married in 2015.
They have a daughter named Matilde, who was born on January 30th, 2017, and a son named Gonçalo, who was born on September 6th, 2020. Bruno Fernandes has tattoos on both of his arms with the number 8, which he uses to honor his birth date, and his father, who was a footballer and wore the number 8 shirt during his playing career.
The letter “F” symbolizes his surname, and the number 23 is a tribute to his debut with the Portugal national football team when he was 23 years old.
Fernandes is a direct and energetic box-to-box playmaker who can take on defenders and set the rhythm of play. He tends to take risks with the type and level of passes he attempts, but he also presses the opposition right after losing possession.
Fernandes is known for his prolific goal-scoring record from midfield, frequently shooting from outside the penalty area and being an accurate free-kick and penalty taker. His movement off the ball is also key, as he often roams around the attacking areas of the pitch or drops deep to pick up possession.
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand commented that Fernandes “is a player who knows how to create chances, who can use his imagination, creativity, and patience around the box to hit a ball from the edge of the box and put it in the back of the net, manipulate and take the ball”. Ferdinand also praised his leadership abilities, stating “he was one of the players in the game that leads by example”.
Former Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjær stated that Fernandes was a “bit of a mix between Paul Scholes and Juan Sebastián Verón”. Fernandes’ goal-scoring abilities have also drawn comparisons with former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, after breaking his record of being the highest-scoring midfielder in Europe in a single season.
Languages Spoken by Fernandes
Apart from Portuguese, Fernandes is also fluent in Spanish, English, and Italian. Additionally, he can speak some French.
Fernandes Sports Wear
Fernandes is currently sponsored by the sportswear giant Nike, and he wears Nike Mercurial Vapor boots. This information is confirmed through reliable sources.
International Call-Up
Bruno Fernandes has played for his country at various levels of international football, including the Portugal under-20s and under-21s, as well as for the senior national team. Fernandes has earned 28 caps for his country, scoring goals and providing assists in Portugal’s qualification campaigns for various championships.
He played for Portugal in the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In 2019, Fernandes helped Portugal win the UEFA Nations League and was named the “Team of the Tournament”. He was also part of Portugal’s squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament. Fernandes has continued to perform well for his country, scoring important goals and providing assists in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Bruno Fernandes’ Career Path
Time at Italy
Bruno Fernandes began his football journey at a local club named Infesta. Although he was offered a youth contract at Porto’s academy, he joined Boavista, a local rival team, as they provided him with transportation to training.
This was necessary as his parents were unable to take him to Porto daily. Fernandes spent most of his youth football playing at Boavista. Initially, he played as a center-back; however, he was later converted to an attacking midfielder at the age of 15 after a loan spell at Pasteleira.
Rômulo Fernandes joined Novara in Italy on August 27, 2012. He initially struggled to adjust to his new life due to homesickness and difficulty with the language.
However, after his girlfriend moved to Italy, he quickly learned Italian and began to settle in. He was nicknamed “Maradona of Novara” and “Mini Rui Costa” due to his impressive performances. Fernandes was promoted to the first team in Serie B after playing only a few weeks with the youth team.
He played in more than half of the league games during the 2012-13 season, helping his team to fifth place and the promotion play-offs.
In the summer of 2013, Serie A clubs Inter Milan and Juventus expressed interest in signing him, but Fernandes chose to sign for Udinese in a co-ownership deal with the promise of more first-team opportunities.
He made his Serie A debut on November 3, 2013, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–3 home loss against Inter Milan. On December 7, 2013, Fernandes scored his first league goal in a 3–3 draw at Napoli. He scored again in the second match between the sides, in a 1–1 draw.
On August 16, 2016, Fernandes moved to Sampdoria 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.
Fernandes scored his first goal for Sampdoria on September 26, 2016, in a 1–2 away loss to Cagliari. He scored 5 goals in 33 Serie A appearances during the campaign, helping his team to finish in tenth position.
Time at Sporting
In 2017, Fernandes signed a €8.5 million contract with Sporting CP after he participated in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He impressed early on with four goals in his first five Primeira Liga games, including a brace in a 5-0 away win against Vitória de Guimarães.
Fernandes finished his first season with 16 goals and 20 assists across all competitions, earning him the Primeira Liga Player of the Year award.
In 2018, Fernandes and his teammates were attacked by around 50 Sporting supporters at the club’s training ground after missing out on Champions League qualification. Despite the events, he played in the Taça de Portugal final, which they eventually lost to Desportivo das Aves.
Fernandes was named the Primeira Liga Player of the Year once again and signed a new five-year contract with a €100 million release clause, despite initially planning to leave the club.
During the 2018-2019 season, Bruno Fernandes surpassed António Oliveira’s record for goals scored by a midfielder in a single season for Sporting.
He scored his 23rd goal on March 3, 2019, and went on to score his 31st goal on May 5, making him the highest-scoring Portuguese midfielder in a single season of all time. In total, he scored 33 goals and was honored with the Primeira Liga Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year.
In the 2019-2020 season, Fernandes continued his impressive performance with seven goals in his first 10 matches, including a streak of scoring in six consecutive games. Additionally, he helped Sporting secure a position in the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League by scoring two goals and providing two assists in a 4-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven.
Life At Manchester United
In January 2020, Manchester United signed a deal with Sporting for the transfer of Fernandes for a fee of up to €80 million.
He made his debut in February and scored his first goal for the club against Watford later that month. Fernandes was voted the Premier League Player of the Month for February and won multiple awards for his performances. In the 2020-2021 season, he was named Premier League Player of the Month twice and finished as the third top scorer in the league.
In the following season, Fernandes scored a hat-trick against Leeds United and became the top assist provider in the Champions League. Despite his efforts, Manchester United lost the Europa League final to Villarreal on penalties.
Bruno Fernandes’ Achievement
Sporting CP:
– Taça de Portugal: 2018–19
– Taça da Liga: 2017–18, 2018–19
Manchester United:
– EFL Cup: 2022–23
– FA Cup runner-up: 2022–23
– UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2020–21
– FA Cup winner: 2023-24
Portugal:
– UEFA Nations League: 2018–19
Individual awards:
– SJPF Young Player of the Month: August 2017, September 2017, October/November 2017, February 2018, April 2018
– Primeira Liga 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 Midfielder of the Month: August 2017, October/November 2018, December 2018, January 2019, February 2019, March 2019, April 2019, August 2019, September 2019, January 2020
– LPFP Primeira Liga Player of the Year: 2017–18, 2018–19
– Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2017–18, 2018–19
– UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21
– Sporting CP Footballer of the Year: 2018, 2019
– CNID Footballer of the Year: 2019
– UEFA Nations League Finals Team of the Tournament: 2019
– PFA Fans’ Premier League Player of the Month: February 2020, June/July 2020
– PFA Team of the Year: 2020–21 Premier League
– Premier League Player of the Month: February 2020, June 2020, November 2020, December 2020
– Premier League Goal of the Month: June 2020, February 2021, September 2023
– Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 2019–20, 2020–21
– 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
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