Bruno Miguel Borges Fernandes is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Portugal national team.
29 Facts About Bruno Fernandes
2.
Bruno Fernandes is known for his goalscoring, playmaking, penalty taking, and work rate.
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Bruno Fernandes won back-to-back Tacas da Liga in 2018 and 2019, as well as the Taca de Portugal, leading to him being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year and Primeira Liga Player of the Year in both seasons.
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Bruno Fernandes is a former Portugal youth international, representing his country at under-19, under-20, under-21 and under-23 levels.
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Bruno Fernandes made his senior international debut in 2017, being chosen in Portugal's squads for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, UEFA Euro 2020 and 2022 FIFA World Cup, winning the 2019 competition on home soil, while being named in the Team of the Tournament.
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Bruno Fernandes played most of his youth football with Boavista, starting his career as a centre-back, before being converted to an attacking midfielder at the age of 15, following a loan to Pasteleira.
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Bruno Fernandes initially struggled in his new life in Italy, after suffering from homesickness and had problems learning Italian.
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In summer 2013, Serie A clubs Inter Milan and Juventus wanted to sign him, but instead, Bruno Fernandes decided to sign for Udinese in a co-ownership deal, who promised him first-team opportunities.
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On 16 August 2016, Bruno Fernandes moved to Sampdoria on loan with an obligation to be signed permanently.
10.
Bruno Fernandes scored 5 goals in 33 Serie A appearances during the campaign, helping them to finish in tenth position.
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Bruno Fernandes finished his first season with 16 goals across all competitions, second only to Bas Dost and provided 20 assists, being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year and Primeira Liga Player of the Year.
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Bruno Fernandes scored his 33rd and final goal of the season on 25 May 2019, during Sporting's victory against Porto in the Taca de Portugal final.
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Bruno Fernandes finished third in terms of top goalscorers in the league with 18 goals and second among the top assist providers with 12.
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Bruno Fernandes later posted an apology for his penalty miss on Instagram.
15.
On 1 April 2022, Bruno Fernandes signed a new contract which will keep him at Manchester United until June 2026, with the option of a further year.
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Bruno Fernandes represented Portugal at under-19, under-20, under-21 and under-23 levels, for a total of 28 caps.
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Bruno Fernandes scored four goals and provided four assist in Portugal under-21s qualification campaign, helping them to qualify for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
18.
In June, Bruno Fernandes took part in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, helping Portugal to a group stage finish, and scoring a goal against Serbia in the opening match.
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Bruno Fernandes started every game, as the team reached the quarter-finals.
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Bruno Fernandes was then selected by Fernando Santos for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
21.
Bruno Fernandes was named in Portugal's final squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament, appearing in all games of the eventual round of 16-exit.
22.
Bruno Fernandes went on to be criticized for his performances during the tournament, as he struggled to replicate his club form for his country, being heavily fatigued and overshadowed by other teammates, he went to be a first-team player to a substitute, by the end of Portugal's campaign in tournament.
23.
An attacking midfielder, Bruno Fernandes is a direct, energetic box-to-box playmaker who is capable of both taking on defenders and setting the rhythm of play.
24.
Directness means that Bruno Fernandes tends to take a lot of risks with the type and level of passes he attempts to complete.
25.
Bruno Fernandes frequently shoots from outside the penalty area and is an accurate free-kick and penalty taker.
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Bruno Fernandes has adopted a particular goalscoring celebrations throughout his career, after scoring a goal, he usually celebrates by covering his ears with both of his hands, as a tribute to his daughter Matilde, who covered her ears pretending not to hear him.
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When Bruno Fernandes moved to Italy at age 18 to join Novara, he was joined there by childhood sweetheart Ana Pinho; they married in 2015.
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Bruno Fernandes has tattoos on both of his arms with the number 8, in which he tributes to his birth date and to his father, who was a footballer and wore the number 8 shirt, during his playing career, the letter F symbolising his surname and the number 23 as a tribute to his debut with the Portugal national football team, when he was aged 23.
29.
Bruno Fernandes is multilingual, apart from his native Portuguese, he is fluent in Spanish, English, and Italian.