Bruno Fernandes jokes that Otavio wants Goncalo Ramos to leave Benfica

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Bruno Fernandes has shared a joke with Portugal teammate Otavio, claiming the Porto midfielder wants Manchester United-linked Goncalo Ramos to leave Benfica.

Having been picked ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, the 21-year-old announced himself on the world stage by scoring a World Cup hat-trick in Portugal’s 6-1 win against Switzerland in the round of 16.

Not only was Ramos making his first World Cup start, but he had the pressure of stepping out of the shadow of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

But Benfica’s number 88 showed he has the temperament and quality to shine on the biggest stage and looks ready to lead Portugal into the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era.

Bruno Fernandes jokes that Otavio wants Manchester United-linked Goncalo Ramos to leave Benfica

Ramos has scored 14 goals and provided six assists for Benfica from 21 matches across all competitions so far this season.

He’s spearheading a Benfica side that qualified for the Champions League last-16 in a group containing Paris Saint Germain and Juventus.

Ramos, who sits top of the Liga Portugal scoring charts with nine goals, is playing under Roger Schmidt and the Portuguese giants have dropped just two points from 13 league games.

Benfica sit eight points ahead of Otavio’s Porto in the league table and Fernandes joked after last night’s historic performance that Otavio wants his compatriot to leave Benfica and make Porto’s fierce rivals weaker.

During Otavio’s interview after last night’s win against the Swiss, Fernandes interrupted and joked: “Otavio wants him to leave Benfica.”

Fernandes claimed that Ramos’ devastating performance came as a result of the striker taking advice from his international teammates while playing cards.

United’s number eight said: “He’s been taking a lot of advice from us while we’re playing cards, that’s why he has that kind of performance.”

The Sun reported in October that Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils have been keeping an eye on the Benfica striker who is in the midst of a breakthrough campaign for club and country.