Bruno Fernandes Reveals Why His Form Dipped When Cristiano Ronaldo Joined Manchester United

Manchester United midfielder, Bruno Fernandes has made a revelation about his poor form when Cristiano Ronaldo joined from Juventus.

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The Portuguese was speaking in an interview with the athletic which was posted on their official website on Tuesday, September 20th, 2022. According to Fernandes, his poor form had nothing to do with the arrival of Ronaldo during the summer of 2021.

Most of my assists last season were for him, so I don't think [that it's fair], I just had a poor season in terms of my own numbers. I don't think it is about Cristiano or myself. Before he came, I was also taking the penalties, but I had two chances to take the penalties last season and I missed both. So I cannot blame Cristiano for taking penalties, especially when he scores them. When I missed against Arsenal in April, it was him who gave me the ball and said, 'Go yourself and score'. I missed but I felt that he trusted me to be the one to step up and score in the big moment. So I don't think it is because of Cristiano, it is because I didn't do the best in myself in some moments to get goals or assists.

He also spoke about their relationship with the national team whenever they are called up to play for Portugal.

In the national team, I play with him and when I score, he is on the pitch. To play with Cristiano as a No.10 is actually really good because players respect Cristiano so much that it creates more space, as the opponents are afraid of him taking the ball and scoring. They want to mark him and [the opposition] create an overload where he is to mark him. For example, when I scored two goals against North Macedonia [in March], one was from his assist and the other was from his run which created the space behind him for me to score. I played the last four Premier League games without Cristiano starting and I scored only one goal. So it is not because of Cristiano. It is about momentum, timing. Sometimes it goes in a bad way and sometimes a better way. Obviously, he can be really good to play together with, for someone who gives assists, as if you give him the right ball, he will score goals.

Supporters of Manchester United and neutrals around the world believe that the poor run of form suffered by Fernandes was because of Ronaldo. Fernandez scored 28 goals in his first season during thr 2020/21 and had since then scored just 10 goals.