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Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has admitted that he was infuriated with Sporting CP after they refused to sell him to Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham Hotspur officially approached Sporting with an offer in August 2019, with then-coach Mauricio Pochettino personally interested in signing Fernandes. The Portuguese outfit studied their offer but ultimately rejected it, as it supposedly did not match their valuation.
Fernandes was angry with Sporting’s decision, as he had his heart set on Premier League football. Speaking to The Athletic, the Portuguese said:
“Obviously I wanted to go to the Premier League. The manager, Mauricio Pochettino, was the one who wanted me there. It was a good offer but Sporting tried their best to keep me.”
Fernandes revealed what his reaction was after Sporting turned down Spurs’ offer. He said:
“The president (Frederico Varandas) spoke with me but he spoke with me on the wrong day. It was the day after they decided to refuse the offer from Tottenham and I was really angry. Luckily for me, the manager (Marcel Keizer) was the right one at the right time.”
According to Fernandes, Keizer understood his situation. The midfielder added:
“[He knew that I] would like to go, that it is a bigger offer, that it is my dream to play in the Premier League and it didn’t happen.”
Fernandes responded by committing to do his best for Sporting.
Unfortunately, the coach was sacked a month after the Tottenham debacle (September 2019).
Before signing for Manchester United, Fernandes scored 63 goals in 137 matches for Sporting across competitions.
Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer personally flew out to see Bruno Fernandes at Sporting
Roughly five months after Tottenham’s deal fell through, then-Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer flew to Portugal to check out Fernandes in action. Sporting lost 2-1 to Porto on that occasion, but Solksjaer, as per Fernandes, was impressed with his performance.
Revealing how he was picked out by Manchester United, Fernandes said:
“At the beginning of January, my agent said, ‘You don’t need to worry, because any time I bring you a club, it will be a dream club for you’. He knew that the dream club was Man United. Ole was a big part of that because he actually went to see my games. He saw me moaning a lot in that game against Porto — I moaned a lot against their players, against the referees.
“I moan against everyone who is against me, not those who are with me. Ole saw someone that was passionate and it helped him sign me for the club. On my first day, he said to me, ‘Just be yourself’. He said, ‘I know what you are capable of with the ball but I also want you to be the leader you have been at Sporting’.”
Bruno Fernandes joined the Red Devils in a €63 million deal from Sporting in January 2020. He has thus far featured in 93 Premier League games for Manchester United, recording 37 goals and 26 assists.
