The real Bruno Fernandes: Uncovering the hidden side of Man United's 'Captain Marmite'

One by one, Bruno Fernandes introduced his team-mates successful the benignant of a endowment amusement big and invited them to sing, the Manchester United skipper relishing his relation arsenic compere.

It was February 19. United’s squad and a fig of unit were eating astatine Brazilian edifice Jardim Rodizio Grill successful Altrincham aft an evening spent tenpin bowling astatine Lane7, wherever the enactment of 50-plus besides played excavation and darts.

Fernandes had organised everything and paid for it each himself. Finally, helium took centre signifier to coax United’s caller players to basal up and execute their initiation songs – 2 January recruits, Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven, and precocious summertime signings similar Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte and Noussair Mazraoui, who indispensable person thought they had got distant with it having joined excessively precocious for the ritual connected circuit successful the US.

Fernandes recognised the request for a team-bonding session. A United broadside described by caput manager Ruben Amorim arsenic perchance the worst successful the club’s past had played similar it successful back-to-back Premier League defeats by Crystal Palace and Tottenham.

Morale was besides debased among nine unit whose fears of 200 much redundancies were astir to beryllium confirmed.

So Fernandes made the bookings and sent retired the invites, making definite to see everyone connected with the first-team including the physiotherapy, sports subject and question departments.

‘We came distant from it feeling person than we thought,’ said 1 insider.

Three days aboriginal astatine Goodison Park, it felt similar it ne'er happened. United trailed 2-0 to Everton astatine half-time and were connected people for a hat-trick of league defeats having played arsenic severely arsenic ever.

As they emerged for the 2nd half, erstwhile Everton defender Derek Mountfield, having gone connected to the transportation during the interval to people his induction into the club’s hallway of fame, thought helium would person a spot of amusive by sticking retired an elbow towards the players successful red.

Fernandes, it’s just to say, didn’t spot the comic broadside successful the circumstances and challenged Mountfield implicit what helium felt was a amusement of disrespect towards United. Fired up, helium dragged his squad backmost into the crippled with a 25-yard free-kick and United ended up taking a point.

It was the archetypal of 7 goals and 3 assists from the 30-year-old successful a seven-game unbeaten tally for Amorim’s broadside up of Tuesday’s sojourn to Nottingham Forest, speech from exiting the FA Cup connected penalties to Fulham.

Fernandes’ 16 goals and 15 assists for the play person elevated him alongside Eric Cantona, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes arsenic the lone six United players to scope 50 goals and 50 assists successful the Premier League era.

In total, helium present has 95 goals and 81 assists successful 277 appearances for United since joining from Sporting Lisbon successful 2020, moving up to 20th successful the club’s all-time scoring charts.

‘It’s inactive a agelong mode to 121 for Andy Cole and 126 for Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) but I anticipation to overtake them,’ helium told MUTV successful an interrogation during the planetary break.

‘Cristiano (Ronaldo) is connected 145 goals, precise acold away, but there's inactive time.’

Fernandes’ 2 penalties successful his Europa League hat-trick against Real Sociedad mean helium has converted 36 retired of 40 attempts from the spot, much than immoderate subordinate successful United’s past arsenic helium has edged up of Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy this season.

The stats are each the much singular considering helium didn’t people erstwhile earlier Erik 10 Hag was sacked successful precocious October and was sent disconnected 3 times earlier the crook of the year.

But Fernandes is thing if not resilient. He has turned his play astir and prevented United’s from becoming a full disaster. It is nary astonishment to spot him up for the Premier League subordinate of the period grant for March.

Yet inactive it’s not capable for immoderate people. Former United skipper Roy Keane has led the disapproval of his enactment skills. ‘Fifteenth successful the league and he’s redeeming them? Praise the Lord!’ fumed an impassioned Keane connected The Overlap podcast past month.

‘Bruno’s a talented subordinate but endowment is not enough. Bruno’s not a fighter.’

When Fernandes spoke to Sky Sports aft picking up his antheral of the lucifer grant astatine Leicester 2 weeks agone and was asked astir criticism, helium didn’t shirk the issue.

‘Obviously I cognize you’re talking astir Roy Keane,’ helium said, clutching the microphone, earlier showing large respect - and restraint - towards the Irishman.

‘I judge determination is simply a batch of borderline for betterment successful my game, my leadership, everything I do, adjacent successful my ain life.’

Others are turned disconnected by his petulance connected the pitch: the changeless arm-waving, moaning astatine referees and calling retired his ain team-mates. Fernandes himself admits helium tin get nether their skin.

Even Amorim – with whom helium has fostered a peculiar narration from the remainder of the squad – admitted aft the Leicester crippled that helium had got the incorrect content of Fernandes too.

‘We successful Portugal spot Bruno with that vexation and I was truly amazed – helium is simply a precise bully professional,’ said United’s caput coach.

Another erstwhile United skipper Bryan Robson is simply a bigger admirer than Keane, but helium admitted past week that ‘I conscionable anticipation Bruno stays distant from the rolling implicit erstwhile helium gets tackled and that benignant of thing’.

Robson was the archetypal Captain Marvel. Fernandes is much Captain Marmite. You either emotion him oregon hatred him.

Fortunately, the bulk of United fans adore their ‘Portuguese magnifico’ and truthful bash astir different radical astir the club.

They picture a skipper who seldom acts disconnected the transportation the mode helium does connected it, adjacent though United’s performances and Amorim’s little squad talks permission plentifulness of aerial clip for Fernandes to rant and rave.

A subordinate with an encyclopaedic cognition of European shot who usually spends the travel backmost from distant trips glued to his iPad watching games, and routinely stays down aft grooming for other shooting practice.

A antheral who has taken a pastoral attack to United’s young players, checking successful with those retired connected indebtedness and staying successful interaction with members of unit helium was adjacent to who person been made redundant.

They archer the communicative of the instrumentality who contacted him connected Instagram to accidental helium was bringing his autistic lad to a United crippled for the archetypal time. Fernandes insisted the day was enactment successful the diary for the crippled 3 months’ aboriginal erstwhile helium made definite to invitation the lad into the passageway afterwards and contiguous him with a signed shirt.

At United, they would situation Keane’s presumption that Fernandes is not a fighter. Incredibly, successful 5 years astatine Old Trafford helium has missed conscionable 15 games – and lone 4 of those were owed to wounded oregon illness.

‘The willingness to play done the symptom is connected different level to anyone we’ve ever seen here,’ says 1 root who has witnessed Fernandes switching betwixt an crystal bath and blistery jacuzzi for hours connected extremity to alleviate ankle and backmost injuries this play truthful helium tin play successful the adjacent game.

Cristiano Giaretta, his sporting manager astatine Udinese and Novara successful Italy, remembers this well. ‘If Bruno was injured, helium would say, “Don’t check, I conscionable request portion connected the ankle”. He had this successful his DNA,' recalls Giaretta, who is inactive regularly successful interaction with Fernandes. 'It’s not lone astir the prime with Bruno. It’s astir his caput and mentality.

‘He ne'er gives up. He has injections successful spite of the symptom due to the fact that helium wants to beryllium contiguous connected the pitch. To play games, to retrieve and to forestall injury, you person to beryllium similar a machine. Bruno is simply a due machine.’

It was Giaretta who took Fernandes from Portugal to Novara and was amazed erstwhile helium visited the teen astatine the Novarello grooming analyzable and discovered helium had enactment post-it notes written successful Italian connected each point successful his country to assistance him larn the language.

‘It was precise astute but I wasn’t surprised,’ says Giaretta.

‘He didn’t conscionable privation to beryllium there, helium wanted to cognize what the manager was saying and person an important accidental successful the squad arsenic well.’

Fernandes rapidly became a pivotal subordinate for Novara, breaking into the archetypal squad successful his archetypal play and turning the club’s play around.

When Mail Sport visited Maia, an concern municipality extracurricular Porto wherever helium grew up successful a first-floor flat successful the Gueifaes district, his manager astatine ADR Pasteleira remembered Fernandes arsenic a ‘wild horse’.

He had to beryllium taken retired of grooming for warring and became a ringleader for his team.

‘When we played away, we’d spell determination with 8 oregon 9 balls and travel backmost with 12!’ laughed Antonio Peres.

Above all, helium produced an unthinkable 32 goals and 17 assists successful the 2018-19 play arsenic Sporting Lisbon skipper to assistance triumph 2 trophies, and galvanise a nine fractured by an infamous grooming crushed onslaught by fans, earlier helium joined United successful a woody worthy up to £68million successful January 2020.

Giaretta, for one, has nary uncertainty that Fernandes is the eventual talisman acold removed from the skipper truthful vilified by Keane.

‘If idiosyncratic is criticising Bruno, it’s due to the fact that helium doesn’t cognize his property oregon leadership,’ Giaretta adds.

‘You are calved a victor and dice a winner. This is an important prime for Bruno.

'He was a antheral erstwhile helium was 19, and the coaches spot him due to the fact that he’s precise reliable. For sure, helium is helping Amorim similar crazy.

‘He is the benignant of subordinate you should ever commune to God to person successful your dressing room.’