Bruno Fernandes: The Portuguese Magnifico

One. Just one.

He is exactly one assist away from breaking the record of most Premier League assist in a single season.

Consider all the mayhem: The Saudi Offer rejected last summer. The consistent management changes. Pundits complaining about his non-stop whining. Critics claiming he isn’t fit to lead the team.

Yet, he very recently joined the hundred club in both goals and assists for Manchester United. Nineteen assists alone this season. Football Writer’s Association (FWA) Player of the Year. Seeing his club secured third place and a spot for the Champions League.

This is just the tip of the iceberg to the stellar, rollercoaster career of Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United.

His vision? Grandiose. His passing? Silky. His distribution? Extensive. His work rate? Perpetual.

Take it from Thierry Henry himself, who regards Bruno with high praise.

“He doesn’t play football, he thinks it…Even when he wins, he demands excellence from himself and his team-mates. That’s a real leader.”

He goes on to reveal that he nicknamed him “Brain-o Fernandes” for his clever manipulation of space. Additionally, he expresses the immense respect he has for Bruno:

“But you have to give him a lot of credit. He could have walked away.

He stayed, he’s fighting every single time. I love him.”

By hitting the 100-goal and 100-assist milestone, Bruno Fernandes entered the esteemed company of the United alumni, Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs, notably reaching this milestone quicker than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Let’s take a deeper dive at his blockbuster Premier League season and how his numbers fare amongst those in the Premier League.

Data from footystats.org (Taken right after GW36 of the PL 25/26 season)

He ranks in the top 16% in games played this season, averaging a staggering 0.84 goals or assist in every game he has featured in this season. This signifies his consistency of playing week in week out and delivering stellar performances whilst having the numbers to back it up.

As a midfielder, you don’t often expect clinical finishing, but the beauty of Bruno is that you often don’t know what to expect.

A cheeky pass? a long range finish? He keeps you guessing.

His 0.84 goal + assist per 90 record places him in the 99th percentile, reflecting the high output of Bruno Fernandes, always creating an impact, a way to score. However, Bruno’s impact stretches far beyond the final touch, it’s about the heavy lifting in the buildup play.

He has attempted 1869 passes as of now, placing him in the top 11% in passes attempted, he holds a record of 82.18% which is quite satisfactory compared to the other footballers in the league.

To understand why he holds such a record, we need to understand the style of Bruno Fernandes. He creates a lot of chances for him team and this means that he attempts to play a lot of forward looking passes or passes that many would only dream of executing. Therefore, his efficiency of passing may not be in the high percentiles but to factor in the creativity and difficulty in execution explains this number.

His crosses on the other hand place him quite high. With 168 crosses attempted and 50 made, that places him in both the 95th and 96th percentile respectively, signifying his freedom to cross the ball and how accurate he does it as well. His cross completion rate is 29.76% placing him in the 74th percentile, where you could see fullbacks and wingers enjoying better efficiency due to their specialty of delivering crosses to the box.

His dribbling is not his forte but he does attempt the occasional dribble to free up a yard or two to unleash a pass. His dribble success rate is 45.45% placing him in the 53rd percentile but this is understandable due to Bruno’s strength often lying in vision and passing rather than dribbling and skipping past players.

We can see that Bruno’s a visionary. An imaginative player who doesn’t back down to try something new or different to find his teammates. His offensive statistics highlight his impact but his leadership represents his accountability. He never fails to correct his teammate but also to correct himself when he makes mistakes.

Bruno is having an immense season, but the reality is he has been operating at this world-class threshold for the last six years. However, let’s save the last six years for another piece.

For now, Bruno has secured Champions League football, a few individual accolades but his season is not done yet, with his eyes set on the World Cup, where we see Portugal take on the heavyweights, the newcomers and all those in between in this year’s fight to be the best nation in the world!