Few players have endured a season of contrasting fortunes like that of Manchester United captain and Portugal international Bruno Fernandes.
The Red Devils recorded their lowest finish of the Premier League era, ending the campaign in 15th place, and were edged out in the Europa League final by fellow domestic strugglers Tottenham Hotspur.
But the mood in the Selecao camp could not be more different, after they picked up the Nations League trophy with their penalty shootout victory over Spain in Munich’s Allianz Arena.
Bruno Fernandes celebrates Portugal victory
It represents only Portugal’s third piece of silverware, following their Nations League victory in 2019 and their famous Euro 2016 win almost a decade ago.
Fernandes took one of Portugal’s five winning penalties to clinch the trophy and described what the victory meant following the final whistle.
“It’s a special moment for everyone,” the midfielder admitted, as quoted by the Mirror. “Winning for Portugal is different. It’s for our family, for our people, for the country, for our people.
“We don’t need to be favourites. That’s up to the person who says it, there will always be those who say that some are favourites, others will say that others are.
"That doesn’t matter to us. We, the Portuguese, go out there to win, whatever it is, whoever is ahead of us. We want to win every game.”
Given United will enter the new season with little external faith based on this season’s offering, Red Devils fans will hope Fernandes can bring plenty of that fighting Portuguese spirit back to Old Trafford with him.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Fernandes lifting a trophy with Portugal can only be a positive for United.
It has been a difficult season for all at Old Trafford, there’s no escaping that.
But their captain returning in high spirits after international success, having committed himself to the project in the face of a lucrative Saudi Pro League offer, could be a crucial ingredient to get Ruben Amorim’s men firing again.
Fernandes is valued at €50m, according to Transfermarkt.
