MANCHESTER UNITED star Bruno Fernandes has admitted he was fuming after a potential move to Tottenham collapsed.
The attacking midfielder is now an integral part of the United set-up but shortly before becoming a Red Devil in January 2020, Spurs bid for him.
However his club at the time Sporting Lisbon rejected the offer as it didn’t meet their valuation – leaving him angry.
Fernandes told The Atheltic: “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.
“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.
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“Luckily for me, the manager [Marcel Keizer] was the right one at the right time.”
Keizer knew it was a dream move for Fernandes but his club still said no, the Dutchman was soon sacked and the Portuguese international had to carry on at Sporting.
But in 2020, Man Utd manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and assistant Mike Phelan went to scout the 28-year-old in the flesh and were impressed.
Fernandes says: “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.’
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“He knew that the dream club was Man Utd. Ole was a big part of that because he actually went to see my games.
“On my first day, he [Solskjaer] said to me, ‘Just be yourself. I know what you are capable of with the ball but I also want you to be the leader you have been at Sporting.’
Since joining Man Utd he has played 134 times scoring 51 goals and registering 40 assists.
He continues to be an important player for the club under Erik ten Hag, featuring in every match he has taken charge of so far.
In his interview Fernandes also opened up about what he names the “ghost from the past” when speaking about the 4-0 embarrassing loss to Brentford.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
