Manchester United attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes has responded to claims that he and Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo gel badly together as a partnership in the Red Devils.
What did Bruno Fernandes say?
Bruno touched on several topics in an extensive interview, including his on-site relationship with Cristiano and the changes Erik ten Hag has made to the team’s mentality. The Red Devils playmaker defended his club record alongside his Portuguese colleague as he discussed his new manager’s unique coaching philosophy – which he sees as comparable to the Dutchman’s counterparts at Liverpool and Man City.
Bruno Fernandes said that first of all, Erik has an idea. According to the Portuguese, he has style. They must follow his rules. Erik ten Hag is strict about this. And the Portuguese love it. Ten Hag brought a discipline that Bruno thinks they missed in the past. This is what Guardiola and Klopp have been doing for years.
Addressing claims he’s doing better without Cristiano, Bruno added that most of his assists last season were for him, so he doesn’t think so. Bruno Fernandes says that he just had a bad season in terms of his own numbers. Fernandes doesn’t think it’s Ronaldo or himself. Before he came, I also took free kicks, but Bruno had two chances to take free kicks last season and he missed both. So according to Bruno Fernandes, he can’t blame Ronaldo for taking penalties, especially when he scores them.
A little about the topic
After a blistering start to his career at Man Utd, Bruno’s numbers have fallen far behind since Cristiano joined the club last summer. During the 2021-22 campaign, he made just 16 Premier League appearances, compared to 29 the previous season.
Bruno is on international duty in Portugal with Cristiano over the next week, while Santos’ will host the Czech Republic and Spain in the Nations League.