Bruno Fernandes

Bruno Miguel Borges Fernandes (born 8 September 1994) is a Portuguese professional footballer. He plays as an attacking midfielder for Manchester United, where he serves as captain, and for the Portugal national team. Many consider him among the world’s best in his position. Fernandes began his professional career with Italian Serie B side Novara.

He moved to Serie A club Udinese in 2013, then to Sampdoria three years later. After five years in Italy, he joined Sporting CP in 2017. At Sporting, he won the Taça da Liga in back-to-back seasons (2018 and 2019) and the Taça de Portugal. He was named Primeira Liga Player of the Year and in the league’s Team of the Year for both campaigns.

In 2018–19, he scored 33 goals in all competitions, a record for a Portuguese midfielder and the highest single-season total by any midfielder in Europe. In January 2020, Fernandes signed with Manchester United for an initial €55 million (£47 million). That fee was, at the time, the second-highest ever paid for a Portuguese player leaving the domestic league. He has become a key figure for United, making over 300 appearances.

With the club, he won the FA Cup and the EFL Cup. He helped United reach the UEFA Europa League final in 2021 and 2025, finishing as the competition’s top scorer in both seasons, and the FA Cup final in 2023. In 2026, he received the FWA Footballer of the Year, Premier League Player of the Season, and PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards. He also won the Premier League Playmaker of the Season after registering 21 assists, breaking the record for most assists in a single Premier League season.

That total tied the top-five-league record held by Thomas Müller (Bundesliga) and Lionel Messi (La Liga). Fernandes represented Portugal at youth levels, including under-19, under-20, under-21, and under-23. He played for Portugal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. His senior international debut came in 2017, and he has since earned more than 90 caps.

He was selected for Portugal’s squads at the FIFA World Cup in 2018, 2022, and 2026, the UEFA European Championship in 2020 and 2024, and the UEFA Nations League Finals in 2019 and 2025. Portugal won the Nations League both times, and Fernandes was named to the tournament’s Team of the Tournament in 2019. Fernandes was born in Maia, in the Metropolitan Area of Porto. As a child, he supported Boavista and Manchester United.

He often played street football with his older brother Ricardo, who also became a professional footballer. His father had emigrated to Switzerland and wanted Fernandes to join him, but Fernandes refused, believing the standard of Swiss football was too low.

Fernandes started his youth career at local club Infesta. Porto offered him a youth contract, but he chose local rivals Boavista instead, because Boavista provided transportation to training—his parents could not drive him to Porto daily. He spent most of his youth at Boavista, initially playing as a centre-back. At age 15, after a loan to Pasteleira, he was converted into an attacking midfielder.

On 27 August 2012, Fernandes joined Novara in Italy. He struggled at first, suffering from homesickness and difficulty learning Italian. After his girlfriend moved to Italy, he quickly learned the language and began to settle. Teammates and fans nicknamed him the “Maradona of Novara” and the “Mini Rui Costa.”

After only a few weeks with the youth sides, he was promoted to the first team in Serie B. He appeared in just over half of the league matches during the 2012–13 season, helping Novara finish fifth and reach the promotion play-offs. In summer 2013, Inter Milan and Juventus both wanted to sign him, but Fernandes chose Udinese in a co-ownership deal that guaranteed first-team opportunities. He made his Serie A debut on 3 November, coming off the bench in a 0–3 home loss to Inter Milan.

His first league goal came on 7 December in a 3–3 draw at Napoli; he also scored in the reverse fixture, a 1–1 draw. On 16 August 2016, Fernandes moved to Sampdoria on loan with an obligation to buy. He made his league debut twelve days later, playing six minutes in a 2–1 home win over Atalanta. His first goal for Sampdoria came on 26 September in a 1–2 away loss to Cagliari. He scored five goals in 33 Serie A appearances that season, helping the team finish tenth.

On 27 June 2017, after returning from the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Fernandes signed a five-year deal with Sporting CP for a reported €8.5 million plus bonuses. He debuted on 6 August in a 2–0 home win over Desportivo das Aves. He scored four goals in his first five Primeira Liga matches, including a brace in a 5–0 away win against Vitória de Guimarães. His first Champions League group-stage appearance came on 12 September, where he put Sporting 3–0 ahead in the 43rd minute of an eventual 3–2 win at Olympiacos.

He finished his first season with 16 goals and 20 assists across all competitions, second only to Bas Dost in goals. He was named Primeira Liga Player of the Year and in the league’s Team of the Year. On 15 May 2018, Fernandes and several teammates and coaches were injured after around 50 Sporting supporters attacked the club’s training ground. The attack followed the team’s third-place league finish, which meant they missed out on Champions League qualification.