Manchester United primed to bounce back from horror EPL season, says captain Bruno Fernandes

Though Fernandes noted that no player on the eve of the season would describe his manager in anything other than glowing terms – much less him with a fellow Portuguese – he seems completely genuine in his praise. The 30-year-old says he sees the game in the same way as Amorim, credits him with improving his personal output, and is grateful he has the “big balls” needed to make the decisions that could shape the club’s future. “I can see something good coming for the team,” he said. Bruno Fernandes after Manchester United’s Europa League final defeat. Credit: Getty Images This season is a fresh start in a number of ways. Firstly, it’s the first full one for Amorim, who took over in November after a disastrous start led to Erik ten Hag’s sacking. Amorim could not arrest the slide which led to United’s 16th-placed finish, their worst since 1989-90. He did get them into the Europa League final, but they lost the chance at a shortcut into the UEFA Champions League when they fell 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur, on a night when their limitations in attack were clear for all to see.

That’s hopefully been addressed. Amorim has used his first true opportunity to dive into the transfer market by bringing in a new frontline: two wingers with plenty of EPL experience in Mathias Cunha, from Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Bryan Mbuemo, from Brentford, either side of big Benjamin Šeško – one of Europe’s most exciting young strikers – from RB Leipzig. “Putting them three together with everything we had already from last season will give big competition to everyone, and everyone will be fighting for their position into the team,” Fernandes said. “You just have to start strong again. At Manchester United, time doesn’t exist. You have to do it now.” Bruno Fernandes And Fernandes is still around, too. He was the subject of an eye-watering offer from Al Hilal, who were reportedly prepared to pay over $200 million to get him – a huge transfer fee for a player his age – and almost triple his $500,000-per-week wages. “I know numbers matter the most in football,” he said.

“Obviously it was a big number that the club could get for me. So I know how tough it was for the club. When I spoke with the president of Al Hilal, I spoke with him once and I told him, ‘I’ve never thought about leaving, I appreciate your call. Whatever you want to do or not, you can talk with the club,’ because I’ve always said if the club wanted to sell me, then yes, I had to make a decision. But if the club doesn’t, I don’t have to make a decision, because my aim is to stay here. “It’s a lot of money for me, too, but it is what it is. People make decisions in their lives. I won’t regret it because this is the place I want to be and this is the place where I want to be successful also.” Manchester United’s renovated training facility underlines the sense of a fresh start this season. Credit: Getty Images Last week, renovations of United’s training facilities were completed. When the Carrington Training Complex first opened in 2000, they were state of the art – but as the years ticked by, they became dark, dingy and outdated, and a metaphor for how their standards had slipped. Three years ago, in his infamous interview with Piers Morgan, Cristiano Ronaldo described them as frozen in time; according to reports, he wouldn’t even use the main swimming pool because it had chipped and cracked tiles he deemed a hazard to player safety. Now, thanks to a $100 million redevelopment, Carrington is best-in-class again, and the most tangible manifestation of part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ambitions for the club. The slick new facility includes the latest technology to assist player recovery (altitude chambers, underwater treadmills and the like), plus some pretty cool lounges for the team to hang out in (including a barber shop and an F1 simulator), which all adds to the sense of a new beginning, and of a club seeking to regain its rightful place on top of the pile – although for Fernandes, it’s the little things that could make the biggest difference.

“One of the things that Sir Jim spoke about was the natural light into the building,” he said. “I know it’s a small detail, a small thing that could make such a big difference for the people that work here, because they have to be here for a very long time and for them to be closed in a space where they can’t see natural light is very difficult. People that work in the office, they always talk about this, that brings more sadness and not as a good environment to work [in]. Also for our physios, for our staff, it’s going to be a much nicer space for them to be working with.” So that’s the building sorted. What about the rebuild of the team? That’s ongoing and, at the same time, overdue. It’s no longer possible for a fallen giant like United to return to the top of the Premier League without enduring a period of pain on the ascent. But how can they do that in a world of unrealistic expectations and supporter impatience, at a club that still holds global attention like no other? “Expectations at this club are always high,” Fernandes said. “It doesn’t matter if you rebuild or not. Manchester United has no time to rebuild. You just have to start strong again. That’s all. No one will be saying that you need to rebuild. At Manchester United, time doesn’t exist. You have to do it now.

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