Bruno Fernandes Symbolizes Manchester United’s Decline This Season

It was only nineteen days ago that Bruno Fernandes beamed for the cameras as he signed an extension to his Manchester United contract.

The Portuguese playmaker’s new deal added an extra year to his existing contract, keeping him at Old Trafford until at least 2026, as well as doubling his weekly salary from around £120,000 to £240,000.

The club had been discussing a new deal with Fernandes for several months, which was a reward for the impact he had made since arriving in January 2020, and an acknowledgement he deserved to be be one of their highest earners.

After signing his deal Fernandes spoke about his special relationship with the fans, and how playing for United remained a dream and an honour for him.

“There is so much more that I want to achieve here, and I know that is the same for the rest of the squad and staff,” Fernandes added. “More than anything, we want to give the fans the success that they deserve. We have shared some great moments over the last years, but the best is yet to come from myself and this team.”

These words have rung hollow ever since as United’s hopes of finishing in the top four have all but vanished with defeats to Liverpool and Everton, a draw to Leicester City and a narrow win over bottom of the table Norwich City.

The news of Fernandes’ new contract was greeted positively by most United fans, with their hope being that now with his new contract Fernandes would return to his best form.

This hasn’t happened, with Fernandes failing to make any impact, and not registering an assist or a goal in his last four games.

The brutal truth is Fernandes has been dreadful for United for most of the last three months, offering very little in attack, and becoming increasingly frustrated, as he complains to team-mates and gets involved in petty arguments with opponents.

This has shone a light on Fernandes’ new contract, and made the timing of it look even more strange. He was already contracted until 2025, so there was no need to tie him down further at this stage, and with his poor form this year, it has even looked like a reward for failure.

Fernandes deservedly won United’s Player of the Year award for both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, after contributing 40 goals in his first 80 games in all competitions.

But this season he has failed to recreate this form, and has found himself dragged down by United’s own dreadful season, managing 9 goals in 41 games so far.

Fernandes has also signed his new contract just weeks before United embark on a new era under Erik ten Hag as their manager.

This raises the question did Ten Hag give his approval to the deal before he had agreed to come to United? Probably not, meaning United have invested millions in a player not guaranteed to be used by him.

The Dutchman’s teams place a clear emphasis on possession, but this has never been a strength of Fernandes’ game. He is a risk-taker, always looking for a defence splitting-pass, which can result in a large amount of them being misplaced or intercepted.

Fernandes is not a particularly adaptable player either, only really performing in the No.10 role, which remains to be seen if Ten Hag will play this at Old Trafford.

The Portuguese attacker needs to quickly prove he is both deserving of his new contract and a central role in his new manager’s plans, by getting back to the exceptional form he showed for United in his first eighteen months.