Bruno Fernandes named forgotten Man Utd ace in list of eight stars he idolised
Bruno Fernandes wanted to emulate eight players when he signed for Manchester United - including Nani.
Fernandes, 29, joined the Red Devils from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020. He's become arguably the club's most important player since arriving at Old Trafford, scoring 65 goals in 191 games and taking the armband off Harry Maguire in July.
Although the Portugal international has turned out to be a find rather than a flop, it was unclear back in April 2020 how his United career would pan out. He decided to set himself a target by naming eight players he'd like to emulate at Old Trafford.
The list contained the usual suspects - such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Eric Cantona - but Fernandes raised eyebrows when he mentioned Nani. It's been a long time since the Portuguese winger's name has been heard at Old Trafford.
Nani, who is still playing at the age of 36, was one of Sir Alex Ferguson's most trusted players during the late noughties. He arrived in the summer of 2007 and helped United win 12 trophies, including four Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League.
Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dash
Nani played more than 200 games for United, but his Old Trafford career slipped into obscurity after Ferguson's exit in 2013. He played just 11 times in the Premier League during the 2013/14 term before returning on loan to boyhood club Sporting in August 2014.
Although Nani won the Euros with Portugal in 2016, he's spent the last nine years of his club career playing in various countries - including the United States and Australia. He's currently on the books at Turkish side Adana Demirspor.
Despite Nani slipping away from the top of European football, he did enough at Old Trafford for Fernandes to idolise him. Speaking to United's website, Fernandes said in April 2020: "I have already said this a lot of times, but it was a dream come true.
"For me, ever since I was a kid, it was a dream playing for Manchester United. Manchester United was and is one of the biggest clubs in the world. You look in the past and when I'm younger, you look at the players who played for Manchester United.
Nani played more than 200 games for Manchester United (Getty Images)Is Bruno Fernandes Manchester United's best player? Let us know in the comments below!
"You see the biggest stars in the world. You see the best players in the world. You have players from everywhere and also, we talked a lot and I told you about Cristiano. I looked at Manchester with more interest when Cristiano was here because it's normal when you have Portuguese players in some teams, you look at them more than other teams.
"But at that moment, I started to look at Manchester in a different way because you see Cristiano but then you also see the team and you have Paul Scholes, you have Rooney, you have (Ryan) Giggs and you have Roy Keane, Cantona before.
"You have a lot of players... I don't know... (Ruud) van Nistelrooy... I can stay here for hours saying all the names of players for Manchester United. Also, Nani, who's played with me. You have big stars playing here."
While Fernandes' trophy cabinet isn't as packed as Nani's, it's fair to say the current star has made just as big of an impact at Old Trafford. Now it's up to the skipper to turn United's fortunes around after a difficult start to the season.
Ten Hag's side have already lost to Arsenal, Tottenham, Brighton and Bayern Munich. They will need to get back to winning ways if they want to win silverware this term, with a tough trip to relegation candidates Burnley coming on Saturday evening.
Man Utd deadline day live updates as Sabitzer completes loan move
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
