What we learned from Bruno’s big new interview

It’s been a very satisfying week for Bruno Fernandes and Manchester United.

Last Wednesday, the Portuguese playmaker signed a new contract that will keep him at Old Trafford until at least 2027.

Two days later, the skipper helped his team to a 1-0 win over Fulham in the Reds’ first Premier League test of the 2024/25 season.

Ahead of that match with the Cottagers, we sat down with our no.8 to reflect on his decision to extend his stay with the club, and you can watch the interview in full below. Or, you can scroll down a little bit further to read some of Bruno’s best quotes…

Bruno Fernandes | Here to Stay

WHY I DECIDED TO STAY

“The club knew that I want to compete with the best teams. They knew that we needed to improve the team. And I think that we’re doing that.

“Obviously, I said to them: ‘I don’t need you to promise me that we’re going to win the league.’ Because no-one can promise that. But at least that we will have a team to compete and be competitive through the season, to try to achieve silverware and to compete in the highest levels.

“I think the club is doing that. It’s trying to bring people in to get more players with quality in the team; to get more competitive, [so everyone is] fighting for your place.

“But my first choice was always to stay at the club. It was not even demands, but the things that I wanted to see: the club going forward, [so] I could see a future on that. To be honest, I look now and I see that the club is making an effort for that.”

UNITED’S NEW ERA

“When there’s a change, it’s a different mood and it’s really nice. At the beginning, it’s always the best part, because you get to know each other, there are new ways of working.

“But then we have to get this going into the season and understand that it’s going to get to a point that’s repetitive, but we need to keep the same enthusiasm that we had at the beginning.”

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THE FLETCH CONNECTION

“He [Darren Fletcher] has been talking with me a lot during this time. I think he’s one of the people that I like to talk to. I like to learn from him, because he’s been successful at the club. He’s been part of a big success of the club. So he knows what it needs to get that success. He’s always a person that I always try to speak to and learn from.

“Those words from him, it was meaningful, because he’s been saying that to me since the day I’ve been with him at the club: that I deserve to be here, that I’m a proper Man United player. So it touches a little bit, because it’s from someone that has achieved a lot.”

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MY LOVE FOR UNITED HAS GROWN

“When I joined, it was a dream come true. I think everyone knows that it was my dream to play in the Premier League for United. I had the chance to put that together. I wanted to play in the Premier League, and my favourite club was United. Being lucky enough to do both, it’s something unbelievable.

“Obviously, my love for the club hasn’t changed. It has grown. Because you get to know the city, you get to know the fans, and you get to know how the people live here. How the way they approach the day-by-day; the way they approach the game-day. It’s different from every country.”

Bullet-proof Bruno

MANCHESTER FEELS LIKE HOME

“Me and my wife, when we just arrived back in Manchester, we said: ‘It feels like home.’ It’s something strong to say, even more [from] my side, because I’m a real home person and I love my country, I love my city.

“So for me to say that, and my wife saying that ‘It feels like home here’, it’s something that means a lot. Because I love my friends, I love my family, I love to be in Portugal for the time I spend there. And to have the same kind of feeling when I’m here, it’s really something special.”