Who is Bruno Fernandes?
Bruno Fernandes was born on September 8, 1994, and plays midfield for both the Portugal national team and Manchester United, a Premier League team that he captains.
Novara, an Italian Serie B team, was where Bruno Fernandes began his career. In 2013, he moved to Udinese, a Serie A team, and then Sampdoria three years later. In 2017, following five years in Italy, he joined with Sporting CP. He was selected as the Primeira Liga Player of the Year and Team of the Year in both 2018 and 2019 after winning the Taça de Portugal and the Taça da Liga back-to-back. He became the highest-scoring midfielder in Portugal and Europe in a single season in 2018–19 after setting a record of 33 goals across all competitions.
Fernandes joined United in January 2020 for an initial €55 million (£47 million), which at the time was the second-highest price paid by a Portuguese player leaving the domestic league. He made more than 250 appearances for United over the following five years, becoming a key member of the team. He has won the FA Cup and EFL Cup together, and he helped the team go to the FA Cup final in 2023 and the UEFA Europa League final in 2021 and 2025. As an individual, he won the 2020 FSA Men’s Player of the Year Award and finished first in the Europa League in 2019–20 and 2024–25.
Former Portugal youth international Bruno Fernandes played for his nation at the under-19, under-20, under-21, and under-23 levels. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he competed on behalf of Portugal. In 2017, he made his senior international debut. Portugal’s teams were selected for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022, the UEFA European Championship in 2020 and 2024, and the UEFA Nations League Finals in 2019 and 2025. The team won the latter two times and was named to its domestic Team of the Tournament in 2019.
Early Life
Maia, in the Porto Metropolitan Area, is where Bruno Fernandes was born. He grew up cheering for Manchester United and Boavista. When he was younger, he and his older brother Ricardo—who was also a professional football player—would play football on the streets. Because of the quality of Swiss football at the time, Fernandes refused to relocate with his father, who had immigrated to Switzerland.
Club Career
Youth
At the neighborhood club Infesta, Fernandes started his youth career. Bruno Fernandes was given a youth contract at Porto’s academy while he was growing up, but he chose to train at local rivals Boavista because his parents couldn’t get him to Porto every day. He began his career as a center-back and spent the majority of his childhood football years at Boavista. After a loan to Pasteleira at the age of 15, he was transformed into an offensive midfielder.
Novara (2012–2013)
He started working for Novara in Italy on August 27, 2012. After experiencing homesickness and having trouble learning Italian, Fernandes initially struggled in his new life in Italy. Bruno Fernandes became known as the “Maradona of Novara” and the “Mini Rui Costa” after his fiancée relocated to Italy. He rapidly picked up the language and settled there. Fernandes was promoted to the first team in Serie B after just a few weeks with the youth teams. He then played in slightly more than half of the league games in the 2012–13 season, which helped his team finish in fifth place and advance to the promotion play-offs.
Udinese and Sampdoria (2013–2017)
Inter Milan and Juventus, two Serie A teams, expressed interest in signing Fernandes in the summer of 2013, but he ultimately chose to sign a co-ownership contract with Udinese, who assured him of first-team appearances. On November 3, he made his Serie A debut by substituting in the second half of a 0–3 home defeat to Inter Milan. In a 3–3 draw against Napoli on December 7, Bruno Fernandes scored his first league goal. In the second game between the two teams, which ended in a 1-1 tie, he scored once more.
Fernandes moved to Sampdoria on loan with a permanent signing commitment on August 16, 2016. Twelve days later, he played six minutes in a 2-1 victory over Atalanta at home to make his league debut. In a 1-2 away loss to Cagliari on September 26, Fernandes scored his first goal for his new squad. Throughout the season, he made 33 appearances in Serie A, scoring five goals to help them finish in tenth place.
Sporting CP
Bruno Fernandes signed a five-year contract with Sporting CP on June 27, 2017, following his return from the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, for an estimated €8.5 million plus bonuses. He made his club debut on August 6th, when the team defeated Desportivo das Aves 2-0 at home. In his first five Primeira Liga games, he scored four goals, including a brace in a 5–0 victory over Vitória de Guimarães on the road. In the 43rd minute of the visitors’ eventual 3–2 victory against Olympiacos, he gave them a 3-0 lead in the opening minute of their UEFA Champions League group stage debut on September 12.
With 16 goals in all competitions at the end of his debut season—second only to Bas Dost—and 20 assists, he was chosen to the Primeira Liga Player of the Year and Team of the Year.
After Sporting finished third in the league and missed out on qualifying for the Champions League, about fifty supporters attacked the team’s training facility on May 15, 2018, injuring Fernandes and several of his teammates, including coaches. The team decided to participate in the Taça de Portugal final the next weekend despite the incident, but they ultimately lost against Desportivo das Aves. On July 6, Fernandes received the Primeira Liga Player of the Year award.
Four days later, after reversing his initial decision to quit the Estádio José Alvalade after club president Bruno de Carvalho left, he signed a new five-year deal with a €100 million release clause, receiving a raise in the process.
In his first 10 games of the 2019–20 season, he scored seven goals, including six straight games in which he scored. After Mário Jardel and Bas Dost, he became the third Sporting player in the twenty-first century to score in six or more straight games for the team. Sporting advanced to the UEFA Europa League knockout stages on November 28 as he scored twice and assisted on the other two goals in a 4-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven.
Manchester United
The English team Manchester United announced on January 29, 2020, that they had agreed to a deal with Sporting to acquire Bruno Fernandes for a reputed €80 million (£67.6 million), contingent on the player passing a physical and agreeing to personal conditions. For an initial sum of about €55 million (£47 million), plus up to €25 million (£21 million) in add-ons and 10% of the earnings should United ever sell Fernandes, the deal was formally finalized the next day. A five-and-a-half-year contract was signed by Fernandes.
He played the entire ninety minutes in a goalless draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 1st, marking his debut. He assisted Harry Maguire’s header for the second goal in Manchester United’s 2-0 victory over Chelsea on the road on February 17. In a 1-1 draw with Club Brugge, he made his European debut for Manchester United as a late substitute. On February 23, he scored his first goal for Manchester United against Watford from the penalty spot in a 3–0 victory at Old Trafford. He also assisted Mason Greenwood on the third goal of the game.
In the second leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 32 match against Club Brugge at Old Trafford, he scored a penalty kick to assist the team defeat them 5-0, marking his first European goal for the team. Fernandes was chosen as the February Premier League Player of the Month on March 16.
International Career
Youth
Fernandes competed in the 2014 Toulon Tournament with the Portugal under-20 team. He scored against Chile in a group stage encounter while playing four outs in this competition, which helped Portugal finish in third position.
Bruno Fernandes earned 28 caps while playing for Portugal at the under-19, under-20, under-21, and under-23 levels. Coach Rui Jorge appointed him captain of the under-21 squad before he made his debut for his country. He helped Portugal’s under-21 team qualify for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship by scoring four goals and dishing out four assists throughout their qualifying campaign. Fernandes participated in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in June, scoring a goal against Serbia in the opening game and guiding Portugal to a group stage finish.
He competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics on behalf of Portugal. As the team advanced to the quarterfinals, he started each game.
Senior
Fernandes, who was passed over for Portugal’s selection during his time in Italy, was initially selected on August 28, 2017, to replace the injured Pizzi for the World Cup qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Hungary the following month, though he did not participate in either game. On November 10, 2017, Bruno Fernandes earned his first full cap by taking Manuel Fernandes’ place for the final 34 minutes of the team’s 3-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in a friendly match in Viseu.
Fernando Santos then picked him to play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On June 7, in the final warm-up game prior to the competition, a 3-0 loss to Algeria at the Estádio da Luz, he scored his first goal with a header. In a 3–3 group stage draw against Spain on June 15, Fernandes played 66 minutes and received a booking in his debut World Cup match. Portugal was eliminated on June 30 after losing to Uruguay 2-1 in the round of 16.
Style of Play
Bruno Fernandes is an aggressive midfielder who can take on defenders and establish the pace of play. He is a straightforward, vivacious box-to-box playmaker. Fernandes’ tendency to go direct also means that he frequently takes chances with the kind and caliber of passes he tries to make. He usually pushes the opposition immediately after losing possession, yet he is prone to turnovers. From his midfield position, he has a strong goal scoring record. He is a precise free-kick and penalty taker who often fires from outside the penalty area. He frequently roams the attacking sections of the field or drops deep to get possession, making his mobility off the ball crucial as well.
He can play as a second striker or in a deeper central midfield position in addition to the attacking midfielder position. Fernandes frequently played on the right wing during his tenure at Manchester United under Erik ten Hag because of his ability to cross the ball, which made him a useful assist provider.
Bruno Fernandes Personal Life
Childhood girlfriend Ana Pinho joined Bruno Fernandes when he relocated to Italy at the age of 18 to join Novara; the two were married in 2015. The couple’s boy was born in September 2020, and their daughter was born in January 2017. The letter F represents his last name, the number 23 honors his debut with the Portugal national football team at the age of 23, and the number 8 is tattooed on both of his arms as a tribute to his birthdate and father, who was also a football player and wore the number 8 shirt during his playing career.
Fernandes speaks Spanish, English, and Italian fluently in addition to his native Portuguese. He speaks a little French as well.
Ricardo, Fernandes’ brother, plays football for Roffey in the ninth division of English football.
Bruno Fernandes Faith
Bruno Fernandes is a Catholic. He is a Portuguese professional football player who represents both the Portugal national team and Manchester United. Maia, Porto, Portugal, is where he was born.
Net Worth
As of 2025, Bruno Fernandes’ projected net worth is between £60 and £70 million. He makes about £250,000 a week playing football for Manchester United, which accounts for a substantial amount of his income. He reportedly earned millions extra in endorsement deals from well-known companies like Adidas and EA Sports on top of his already substantial football wage. Fernandes also claimed to have made a lot of money with a company named BF8 Sports Limited. Fernandes also possesses extremely valuable homes in England and Portugal. In addition to his salary as a football player, he has demonstrated financial savvy, making him one of the wealthiest Portuguese players of his generation. He probably still makes money from football and brand partnerships.
Honour
Sporting CP
- Taça de Portugal: 2018–19
- Taça da Liga: 2017–18, 2018–19
Manchester United
- FA Cup: 2023–24; runner-up: 2022–23
- EFL Cup: 2022–23
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2020–21, 2024–25
Portugal
- UEFA Nations League: 2018–19, 2024–25
