The Portugal international midfielder has made a brilliant start to life at Old Trafford and now needs to comply with in some illustrious footsteps.
Bruno Fernandes is setting lofty targets at Manchester United , with the Portugal international looking to match the trophy haul completed by Cristiano Ronaldo for the duration of his time at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils provided a five-time Ballon d’Or winner with the springboard on which to start to never before seen heights after snapping him up from Sporting in 2003.
A familiar transfer direction was taken in January 2020 as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer raided the ranks of the Portuguese heavyweights for 25-year-old midfielder Fernandes.
He has hit the floor running in English football, with favour earned inside a demanding fan base and a key position taken up in Solskjaer’s plans.
Fernandes is making no secret of the fact that he wants to help carry the good times back to the Theatre of Dreams, allowing him to follow in some illustrious footsteps.
He has told Canal 11: “Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani won big trophies right here and that makes me choose to achieve that.
“Nani, with whom I had the opportunity to train at Sporting, has constantly spoken well to me about Manchester United.
“And the truth that Cristiano has given a lot of good references to whoever spoke to him all through my transfer makes me proud, for a player like him to recognise my worth.”
Ronaldo won eight major honours at some point of his time in England, such as three Premier League titles and a Champions League crown.
Seeing Fernandes get anywhere close to that tally would suggest that United have found considerable value in a €55 million (£47m/$60m) deal.
An instantaneous return has already been offered on that investment, with there seemingly plenty of potential to nonetheless unlock.
Fernandes is, however, of the opinion that the Red Devils have been pressured to pay over the odds for his signature in what remains an inflated transfer market.
“Never have been the values so gigh as now,” he added.
“I assume it is an exaggeration. My transfer, the figure mentioned, the add-ons that should nevertheless be, the value that was paid for me was very high.
“Players that were offered at that price some time in the past have been Ballon d’Or winners.”
Ronaldo falls into that class and the Ballon d’Or could be another prize that Fernandes has his eyes on in the future, with any success at United set to see his inventory rise considerably.
