Bruno Fernandes has thanked his former national team manager after Fernando Santos’ Portugal exit was confirmed yesterday.
Portugal reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup before Morocco made history with a 1-0 win, making them the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the competition.
Fernandes was undoubtedly their best player throughout the campaign, picking up four goals and two assists in four matches. If the Portuguese progressed further in the tournament, he would have been a contender to win the Golden Ball.
The Manchester United vice-captain made his debut under Santos in 2017 as a 23-year-old and has since been invaluable to the team, playing a key role in their Nations League-winning campaign in 2019.
When Santos’ imminent exit was announced, Fernandes took to Instagram to bid his farewell, saying: “Many thanks to mister Fernando Santos. Thank you for the opportunity to represent our country and for the trust in us the past few years.
“As a Portuguese, thank you for putting Portugal at the top of Europe and returning confidence and belief to a “small” country that it was possible to be among the “big ones”.
“Moments of glory and joy and others of sadness and frustration, but history was made and will forever be marked in the hearts of all Portuguese.”
Fernandes’ return to United
Now, United’s No.8 will turn his attention back to club action, which resumes with a Carabao Cup tie against Burnley on Wednesday, December 21. It’s unconfirmed whether he will feature, meaning he may make his return in red on December 27 in a Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.
