Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has opened up about a failed move to Tottenham that has left him furious with his former club Sporting Lisbon.
Fernandes sat down exclusively with The Athletic’s Adam Crafton, where he revealed he was close to joining The Lilywhites, whose offer fell short of Sporting’s player rating.
The playmaker told Crafton that he really wanted a move to the Premier League and that it was former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino who was spearheading his search.
After the North London club’s offer was rejected, Fernandes says: “The president (Frederico Varandas) spoke to me, but he spoke to me on the wrong day. It was the day after they decided to reject Tottenham’s offer and I was very angry.”
“Fortunately for me, the manager (Marcel Keizer) was the right one at the right time.”
The 28-year-old finally put his head down and decided to do the best he could for the Portuguese club before landing his dream move to Old Trafford later on.
Former United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his assistant Mike Phelan went to see Fernandes in action and came back impressed with what they saw despite their team losing.
Fernandes remembers Solskjaer telling him he was impressed by his passion and personality on the pitch: the Norwegian made good on his promise by realizing his interest in the player, who was presented with an offer in January by his agent for what he describes as ‘the dream club.
On the exact reason why Solskjaer signed him, Fernandes comments: “Ole was a big part of it because he actually came to watch my games. He saw me moan a lot in that game against Porto, I moaned a lot against his players, against the referees”.
He attributes his moaning as the main reason the 49-year-old brought him to England.
No. 8 United also revealed that the manager who hired him told him to ‘be himself’, something that would allow him to impose his leadership on his team-mates in the dressing room and on the pitch.
Solskjaer certainly made plenty of mistakes in his tenure on the bench, but signing Fernandes was not one of them. The player has been a revelation since he joined the Red Devils and if the club returns to its former glories, the Portuguese will have a lot to say in the matter.
