While Manchester United have often drifted into obscurity in the years succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, it hasn’t been all doom and gloom at the Theatre of Dreams.
The highs relative to the dynastical reign over English football are pretty tame, but trophies have continued to be added to the Red Devils’ busy cabinet since Fergie oversaw his final Premier League title success in 2013.
Bruno Fernandes has been through it all since joining the club from Sporting CP in early 2020. The latest face of the Red Devils certainly wouldn’t have looked out of place in the far more dominant iterations of yesteryear, but Fernandes is also associated with some of the club’s lowest ebbs.
Fernandes’s unwillingness to shirk responsibility in times of strife has seen him gain admiration, often fronting up to the media in the aftermath of the freshest United humiliation. His legacy when it’s all said and done may be tricky to nail down, but plenty would label the Portuguese international a modern-day Man Utd great.
He’s one of very few contemporary Red Devils to garner praise from the standout cogs of Fergie’s wheel, including Paul Scholes, who once said Fernandes was “better” than him, and David Beckham, who claimed that United would be foolish to sell their “exceptional” captain ahead of the 2025 summer transfer window.
Fernandes has since become the 28th Man Utd player to notch 200 Premier League appearances, matching a milestone once reached by Beckham and Scholes. Here’s how Fernandes’s record compares to the English duo through 200 league outings for the Red Devils.
