Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville made a powerful admission about Manchester United and Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes that struck a chord with Ian Wright.
Bruno Fernandes ended the 2025-26 Premier League campaign on a high note after his impactful run of form in the second half of the season under Michael Carrick.
The 31-year-old Man Utd captain netted nine times and registered an impressive 22 assists in 37 matches across all competitions for the Red Devils last season.
Fernandes’ exploits saw the Portuguese midfielder break the Premier League assist record on the final day of the 2025-26 campaign in United’s encounter with Brighton.
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Man Utd legend Gary Neville picked up on Bruno Fernandes’ incredible football IQ when he met him in person
Gary Neville sat down with Bruno Fernandes for an interview on Sky Sports last month after the Manchester United star’s stunning season at Old Trafford.
Fernandes started the season slowly after the Portugal international was dropped into the two-man Man Utd midfield pivot under former Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim.
However, the arrival of United legend Michael Carrick allowed him to return to a more advanced position on the pitch for the Red Devils in the 2025-26 campaign.
Speaking on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, Neville admitted that Fernandes’ eye-opening football IQ stood out when he spoke with him off camera.
“I tell you what you realise when you speak to him one on one, and you speak to him off camera a couple of weeks ago,” he said.
“He’s a massive football fan; he watches all the football. He’s intelligent about football, isn’t he? He’s intelligent about football. He’s like someone that you speak to.”
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Ian Wright on Gary Neville’s claims about Man Utd and Portugal star Bruno Fernandes
Neville told Roy Keane that Fernandes is the perfect example of a player who can surprise pundits for how much they know about football in the current landscape.
“Yeah, but you’re [Keane] also right, sometimes you think we have this perception that maybe some players are a bit more carefree, and they’re not as serious as we think they are,” he said.
Ian Wright believes that Fernandes’ actions speak louder than words and the talented Man Utd midfielder’s ability shows his knowledge of football as a whole.
“Yeah, but you can tell by Bruno, when you watch how he plays every single pass, everything, he’s a perfectionist,” he explained.
“He wants it to be perfect, he doesn’t like people to drop below standards, he looks like somebody that’s just constantly… but you can see it with him, he gets so wound up about thinking.”
Fernandes is away from Old Trafford now after the former Sporting CP midfielder linked up with his Portugal teammates ahead of the start of the World Cup.
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