The European Championships have been frustrating for Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes so far. He has been a shadow of the footballer that he is with United and his dominant displays have been severely curtailed with the national side after two Group F matches.
Ever since his transfer from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United, Fernandes has been the game-changer at Old Trafford with United depending heavily upon his ability to rescue games. His creative force has also seen him taking centre-stage despite the presence of World Cup winner Paul Pogba.
He scored 18 goals and 12 assists in the Premier League last season and his 18 months in United have been world-class. Bruno has scored 26 goals in 51 Premier League appearances and has provided 19 assists.
The story at Portugal is a little different. In the national setup, everything is built around their record goal-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo who has picked up three goals in two matches at Euro 2020. Ronaldo is now the highest scorer in the history of the European Championship having overtaken Michel Platini and he’s chasing Ali Daei’s record of 109 international goals.
At Portugal, Bruno Fernandes has to play second fiddle to Ronaldo and this necessity to not be at the heart of everything Portugal do has worked against him. However, he’s far from the only footballer to have to accept this fate. World class midfielders and forwards Bernardo Silva, Diogo Jota, and Joao Felix have also had to accept that reality.
To go from the main man at United to covering the defensive side of Ronaldo’s game and creating space for him to pounce on has been a tough transition for Bruno Fernandes which is reflected in his performances. He has been barely noticeable in Portugal’s first two fixtures in the competition – a 3-0 win over Hungary and a 4-2 defeat against Germany.
Another key aspect has been that Fernandes takes the important set-pieces at United while Ronaldo is the key man at Portugal. In the opening match against Hungary, Portugal were awarded a penalty and it was Ronaldo who stepped up to take the spot-kick, underlying his gravity in the side.
However, despite being relegated in stature, Bruno Fernandes has shown no signs of frustration or sulking which often accompanies his performances at United. The Portuguese often loses his cool and lashes out at teammates for the Red Devils whereas that side of his personality has been at bay during the European Championships.
Perhaps he’s aware that only Ronaldo has that luxury with the national side or maybe he doesn’t want to annoy his superstar teammate. Whatever the case may be, Portugal would hope their ace midfielder joins the party sooner rather than later.
