TNT Sports pundit Owen Hargreaves has now explained why Bruno Fernandes has no comparable rival at Manchester United in recent times after his impact at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes first arrived at Old Trafford during the reign of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the Red Devils agreed to sign him from Sporting CP in 2020.
Manchester United agreed an initial fee of £47m, including add-ons that took the deal to £67.7m, to bring him to the Premier League club ahead of Tottenham.
Fernandes’ influence, both on the pitch and off it, has been nothing short of remarkable for United in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era of the Premier League club.
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Owen Hargreaves reveals why Bruno Fernandes has absorbed Man Utd’s pressure better than anyone else at Old Trafford
Bruno Fernandes has netted 105 times and picked up 101 assists in 318 matches for Manchester United since he first stepped through the doors at Old Trafford.
The 31-year-old former Sporting CP midfielder ascended to Man Utd captaincy under former Ajax and Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Owen Hargreaves spotlighted that Fernandes’ influence waned in the campaign under Ruben Amorim due to being dropped into the two-man midfield pivot.
“Whether it’s goals or assists, he’s always fit, he’s always available, he always plays, he’s got absolute class when he gets on the ball,” he said on TNT Sports.
“Obviously, he was playing a little bit deeper under Ruben [Amorim], but he’s just a special player and when you’re going to sign a Manchester United player, it’s not just about goals and assists, which he had at Sporting.”
Fernandes has enjoyed a resurgence in form after Ruben Amorim was sacked as Man Utd manager, with Michael Carrick deploying him as a No 10 in his set-up.
Hargreaves added that no other Man Utd player, both past and present, has rivalled Fernandes for the “last 10 years” when it comes to managing pressure at the club.
“Obviously, these passes, he makes them look easy and obviously, it’s a great finish, but I think what makes him special is he’s just always there in the big moments when you need the good or bad ones,” he explained.
“To play for this football club, you need to deal with pressure and nobody’s done that better in the last 10 years than Bruno Fernandes.”
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Owen Hargreaves compares his own experience at Man Utd compared with Bruno Fernandes’ spell at Old Trafford
Hargreaves, who endured an injury-plagued spell at Old Trafford, lifted both the Champions League title and a Premier League trophy under Sir Alex Ferguson.
The former Bayern Munich and England midfielder insisted that he was “very fortunate” compared with Fernandes when it came to his time at Man Utd.
“I think it’s just a special player, you know,” Hargreaves said.
“It’s probably unfortunate for him, he’s coming to the team when it hasn’t been at its elite like it was.
“I was very fortunate to come to a team, you had Sir Alex and David Gill and [Wayne] Rooney, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Carlos] Tevez, [Ryan] Giggs, [Paul] Scholes, [Nemanja] Vidic, you go on forever.
“Everybody was probably the best in the world in their position and Bruno hasn’t had that; the one shining light has been him.”
Fernandes has netted seven times and registered 15 assists in 28 matches across all competitions for Man Utd in the 2025-26 season at Old Trafford.
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