Bruno Fernandes: In the players’ words
Bruno Fernandes’s coronation as the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year for 2024/25 felt inevitable for months – certainly long before voting opened on Monday 12 May.
He received the trophy at Old Trafford in the week before the UEFA Europa League final in Bilbao, and now stands proudly alongside David De Gea and his fellow countryman Cristiano Ronaldo as one of only three Reds to win Sir Matt’s award on four separate occasions.
We know intimately what supporters think about Bruno and the contribution he has made to the Manchester United story over the last five-and-a-half seasons. We hear the songs sung in his honour cascading down terraces every week, home and away. We know too about how many pundits and ex-players admire his ability and his relentless output.
But to really establish just how important the 30-year-old is to United in this challenging post-Ferguson era, you probably need to question one source and one source only: his team-mates. The ones who share the sanctity of those Carrington and Old Trafford dressing rooms with him every day. For that is where the character of Fernandes is revealed in its totality.
The first-team squad gave an inkling as to their thinking when deciding that this season’s Players’ Player of the Year award should also go to him – the first time our no.8 has won that particular prize since joining. But, specifically, what is it that makes Bruno Fernandes – both player and captain – so special in the eyes of those that know him best?
Take it away, lads…
We’ve got to talk about Bruno
MAGNIFICO | A short film in tribute to our Sir Matt Busby and Players’ Player of the Year, Bruno Fernandes…
‘I LOVE PLAYING WITH HIM’
Casemiro: “Bruno is the heartbeat of the team. The team plays how he plays and how he wants. If he wants the team to play further forward, if he wants the team to keep possession, the team keeps possession. He is the most important player in the team, especially going forward. He is the player that scores the most, gets the most assists and takes the most risks. He gives absolutely everything. Sometimes things don't go well for us, but he is always giving his all. I think we must enjoy Bruno. I love playing with him and, of course, it is a pleasure to play alongside him. He scores, he defends, he attacks. He is the figure of United.”
‘EXACTLY WHAT A CAPTAIN SHOULD BE’
Joshua Zirkzee: “I think everyone knows how much more difficult this season could have been without Bruno. A great player. For the big player that he is, he’s still so humble and normal. You can always joke around with him. He’s always talking. As a team-mate on the pitch, he might scream at you, but there will never be a moment where he will disrespect you. He will always have your back, and that’s exactly what a captain is supposed to do. He does everything for the team: running, fighting. Everything is for the team and that I respect so much. Not the greatest Uno player, but a couple more trips and he’ll improve! [laughs] But Bruno is a very special player.”
A MANAGER ON THE PITCH
Toby Collyer: “He's the captain for a reason. He's really good at motivating everyone; really good at helping everyone. Me playing next to him in that Rangers game, he helped me so much with the experience that he has, [with] his communication skills... he was able to help me with things and I wouldn't ask to play next to anyone else. If I could take one part of his game, it would be his awareness. He just knows everything that's going on. He can play in one position, but he knows what's happening in every single part of the pitch. I've never seen anything like it, it's crazy. It's like a manager on the pitch.”
THE SERIOUS JOKER
Leny Yoro: “Bruno is a top player. He's really good this season, but in the others he was good too. To have him on the pitch is a really good thing for us; to have a captain like that is very good. Even outside the pitch, he speaks with everyone, every young player... he tries to involve everyone. So this is really good. He's a real joker, always making jokes! But when you need to be serious on the pitch, he's serious. He tries to involve everyone. He speaks with everyone, always with a smile, and this is what you need in the team. One word to describe Bruno? Magician!”
“I think we must enjoy Bruno. I love playing with him and, of course, it is a pleasure to play alongside him. He scores, he defends, he attacks. He is the figure of United.”
Christian Eriksen: “I think Bruno's influence, ever since I've been at the club, has been massive. He's only grown with that influence by taking the captaincy as well. It gave him a bit extra to focus on than he had before, but he's handled it as a man, for the club and for the team. He's an exceptional player. I think Bruno is a leader [through] his commitment on the pitch. You lean on to him, and he's also the guy that, if you're in any trouble, you pass the ball to him and he will try to help the team or do what he can. He is a leader on the pitch; he's the one who makes everything tick for us. He's always available, he's always fit, he's always really into it, he always wants to win. That goes on to everyone else who is trying to follow up and do something similar.”
“He will always have your back, and that’s exactly what a captain is supposed to do. He does everything for the team: running, fighting. Everything is for the team and that I respect so much.”
Tom Heaton: “I find him a bit frustrating in training [laughs] because he’s one of those players that can do everything and it’s difficult as a goalkeeper! Especially in and around goal. He can bend it, he can strike through it, he can go round you… he’s top. His ability in terms of what he brings on the football pitch is special. On top of that, how he goes about his business every day in training... he's bang at it every day and does things properly. What people don't always see are the demands that he puts on people. There's not a person in the dressing room that he doesn't have a connection with, in terms of getting the most out of them – supporting them when they need it, a quiet word in the ear, an arm round them, or whether it's delivering a no-nonsense approach about needing more from them. He does that very well and he does it in his own way. Everyone across the squad feels that from him. I've seen him do it extremely well over the last few seasons.”
“When I joined the club, he was unbelievable. I got on so well with him from the get-go. He’s the club captain, so he leads by example on the pitch, off the pitch. He's a top, top man.”
Mason Mount: “I played against him quite a few times, so I knew what a great player he was and what a game-changer he could be. It was always difficult to play against him because he's one that will never stop. He'll keep fighting, keep running, keep tackling. Even when I played against him, I loved that about him… because I want to be able to keep running, keep fighting and never give up, and he's the epitome of that. When I joined the club, he was unbelievable. I got on so well with him from the get-go. He’s the club captain, so he leads by example on the pitch, off the pitch. He's a top, top man. It's very special to have him and what he's been able to do this season – score goals, get assists – when times have been difficult just speaks volumes about what he is.”