Bruno on finals, milestones and numbers

Fernandes passed the anniversary on 30 January, days after registering his 100th goal involvement with the Reds - an impressive feat in itself, given it came after just 155 appearances.

Forty-eight hours later, Bruno was celebrating securing a first Wembley final with United, after the Carabao Cup semi-final success over Nottingham Forest.

We sat down with him in the immediate aftermath to discuss fan chants, his milestones, how he views his impressive numbers, what have been his standout moments in a United shirt and more...

You'll find his answers very enlightening...

Bruno, you’ve recently celebrated your three-year anniversary with United and what a way to mark it, with getting through to that Wembley final…
“Obviously it’s amazing. Three amazing years at the club with up and downs, that we all know, but it’s going up now, that’s the most important [thing]. As you said, there’s nothing better than to celebrate it with a ticket to Wembley.”

You’ve played at Wembley with United before, but it was behind closed doors. How much are you looking forward to being there with 90,000 United and Newcastle fans?
“That will be really good. I think it’s an amazing chance and opportunity for all of us to experience that. At the same time, being in the final, it’s a long time for us since we’ve had that chance to be there. It’s now focusing on the games that we have, to be fully prepared for the upcoming games and to arrive at that final at our best level.”

You’ve come close previously, getting to the semi-final of the League Cup, getting to the Europa League final. How much do those experiences drive you and really motivate you to want to win this one and get that trophy?
“Obviously, it always motivates you. It puts you down in the moment that you lose but it makes you understand that you are in a good way, in a good moment to go for more. After that final, we didn’t have the chance to go to more, but now we have. We are in a moment where everyone is feeling really good – the atmosphere around the club, between players, club, fans, has been amazing. It’s been something that has been pushing us to be in the position that we are now. I think we all deserve this chance to go to Wembley. Now it’s up to us to do our job and go there and win the final.”

As well as reaching three years, you also recorded your 100th goal involvement recently. Are the numbers something you keep track of as a footballer, your goals and assists?
“For me, you know, football is also about those numbers. I’m not worried about getting these numbers. Obviously, I want to get them, I want to score goals and I want to assist, because my position demands that from me. I think it’s a really good mark for me and obviously I want to go for more. I want to keep doing those numbers, having more and even better numbers, if that’s possible, and to reach the best level of myself and help the team. The main thing for me has always been helping the team in the way the manager wants and the team needs and the way I can help. If it’s with numbers, it’s with numbers, and if it has to be with different things, it will be with different things. The main thing is now we’ve been in a good way, in a good running. The most important for me is keeping that, because it makes you feel better, it makes you have a smile on your face. But I will be lying if I said I didn’t want to score any more goals or assist, because I want to. I know that if I do that in the future, I will help the team.”

You’re obviously a man with great football knowledge and with your numbers you’re up there with people like Cantona, Rooney and van Nistelrooy in terms of goal involvements in your first few years. How much does it mean to be with players like that?
“It makes you proud. It makes you understand that statistically you’re doing really well, but there are other things that I want to reach with this club. I will go for that, I will go for the trophies. As I said, I want to keep my numbers, I want to score goals, I want to do assists. I want to keep my standards and my levels at the same that those players did. They did that and they helped the club to win trophies. I think I’m in a good way doing that, in a short period of time probably, and hopefully the trophies will start to come to the club and I will start winning with the club.”

Are you the type of player who likes to look back on your best goals and moments? Do you ever watch anything back?
“I watch it many times. I think it’s always good to see what you’ve done so well in the past. Obviously, I’m not looking only at the good things but also at the bad things to make yourself improve, to make yourself better and I always like to see the games, the moments of the past to understand what I could or what I should do better. Especially when you see that, you also want to see the things that you have done really well because it makes you feel good, it makes you keep the positive energy on yourself, the belief on yourself and that is a good thing. Obviously I want to keep doing the job of making myself improve so I need to look at the balance too. Even my small kid now, sometimes he’s watching me in YouTube and he wants to see his daddy scoring goals. Sometimes he’s talking about that, so I have to improve my game and I have to improve my numbers because he wants to see it more!”

If you had to show him one goal or one moment, what would it be?
“Standout moment is probably the hat-trick against Leeds. That was a really good moment, on the opening day of the Premier League for us in that season. It was an amazing atmosphere, with the first time back as a full stadium. It was amazing the atmosphere there and I think that was a pretty good moment for me. I have some goals I would like to show him. I like the one against Newcastle at home, outside of the box: I think that was a pretty good goal. I have many others that I like. I could show him the many penalties I have scored too. I think that’s a good one! [smiles] I have many good goals but I would show him any goal because I don’t think he understands what is a good goal or a bad goal yet, so I think he’d only enjoy to see me celebrating [smiles] because he loves to go around the house when he’s playing with me, faking that he’s scored a goal and he’s going on his knees, sliding and doing the celebration that I used to do. I’m really happy to see that because, when you are a father, sometimes it’s something that pushes you a little bit more. You have your kids at home but they enjoy seeing you playing well and winning games and that raises for sure for me to win games because they can go out of the house when I win, because when I lose I’m not in that mood and we have to stay home [laughs].”

Your little lad’s been born since you’ve been here but looking back at your arrival three years ago, do you feel that you’ve changed as a person or a player at all?
“You always change, you always learn. I came to a different country, a different language, a different culture, so you’re always trying to make yourself into the culture of the country. I think I’ve settled really well. We really like to be here, apart from the cold [laughs]. I think my family has settled really well, my daughter at school is being amazing. She speaks English and so she’s feeling comfortable, she feels like she is in Portugal. That’s the main thing for me. My smaller one is starting to go with some words in English too, so it’s feeling good. For me, as soon as they feel comfortable then I’m okay because I’m playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, in a place that most players would love to be. For me, everything is always good. For me, it’s that my family are okay and they like to be here. That’s the case, so it’s been pretty good for us.”

After that long Covid period, is it still special to hear the fans singing your name at Old Trafford and not something you take for granted?
“It’s always special. Sometimes, in the dressing room, some of the players they joke and they sing my song or they sing my name when I do a tackle or something. They [the players] are always saying they [the fans] are always saying my name and singing my song. It’s an amazing feeling, it’s something that makes you feel goosebumps. It’s something that you didn’t expect obviously. I’ve said many times that I came to the club and, two days later, I was playing a game and already I had the music so it felt like this is the place where I should be, and it is. Obviously, I feel like home, I feel like the fans really appreciate myself, the same way I appreciate them. I think it’s an amazing feeling that it’s really difficult to explain what you feel when you see or hear a whole stadium singing your name or singing your song. It’s something that is difficult to describe.”