by Before signing his new contract, Bruno Fernandes asked Manchester United for assurances about the club’s future.
Fernandes signed a new deal with the club in April last year, keeping him at Old Trafford until at least 2026.
The midfielder has been a key man for United since coming from Sporting CP in 2020, scoring 38 goals and recording 28 assists in 104 Premier League games.
His time at the club, however, came at a turbulent time, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being sacked early last season and interim boss Ralf Rangnick arriving to take over the remainder of the campaign before Erik ten Hag was announced as the new coach since the start. this term
Fernandes revealed that before signing his extension, he spoke to football director John Murtough and coach Darren Fletcher after he was disappointed with the club’s progress.
“Last year I had a talk with the club when everyone knew that Ralf was not the coach of the future,” said the Portuguese international. “I said I wanted to be the solution to the club, I wanted to help the club, but I also wanted to know where we were going.
I said, “Is there a plan? Is there a future? That was before I signed my new contract because it’s clear to the club that money matters, no one can hide it, you always want the best for yourself.”
But at the time I said to me, ‘I have good money, I don’t want a new contract without knowing that we have a good future at the club’.
“I want to know where we are going. I just want to know as a club, do you think we have a future? Do you have a future plan? What are your thoughts on where we can go? What is the club doing?” request?
“Does the club want to win trophies or build something to go to the Champions League? Because for me that is not enough and the club wants more, the history of this club, the quality of players we have, more than just being here and fighting for fourth place. demands.
“The club said they have a plan, that’s what they want, we agree with you that the level of the club should be better than it was in the past.”
The arrival of Ten Hag brought new positivity for United’s future; The former Ajax boss has gotten off to a rough start to move his team to fourth place in the Premier League as it tries to finish the campaign in the Champions League qualifiers.
United is also the only English club to fight on four fronts, and the Red Devils are still bidding on silver items in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League alongside their Premier League success.
Fernandes has not won a trophy since joining United, but he is hopeful he can break that duck this season: “I came to the club and my aim is to win a trophy because I know how big this club is and I know how big it is.” good things and great things can still happen and we can achieve.
“We don’t have to win all the trophies but we have to fight for the trophies and as a club and as a player we have the quality to do that and we show it, so I just want to do it.” Know if this is the future.
“Now you can probably see a team with a style of play that convinces the fans, convinces the players. It’s the team that is right and can win the games. You go to every game and the feeling you have right now is that we’re not afraid to play against anyone.”
