Manchester United thrashed Real Sociedad 5-2 on aggregate to advance to the Europa League quarterfinals on Thursday thanks to a hat-trick from Bruno Fernandes.
The Portuguese scored twice from the spot, once in each half, and got his third with a brilliant finish from inside the box late on.
Despite a disastrous season for the club, the skipper has once again stood tall and he already has 15 goals and 13 assists in all competitions this term.
Despite his impressive exploits, plenty of former players, especially Roy Keane have unjustly criticised him at times recently with the legendary former captain even going as far as to say that “talent is not enough” and Fernandes was not “a fighter”.
Bruno responds to Keane jibes
Amorim and the fans have stood by the 30-year-old, who has always come up trumps for the team. When asked about how he felt about comments made by Keane, the former Sporting star’s response exuded class.
“Roy Keane was an amazing captain for the club, one of the best as everyone says,” he told BBC.
“I didn’t have the chance to see much from him, only the last few years, but he was a great player that won everything for the club. He’s massively respected from everyone and has all my respect.
“He has to give his opinion in a programme and this is what he thinks about me. I don’t want to copy anyone. I try to be the best captain that I can for my team-mates and help everyone in the best way I know.”
Many have pondered what would have been if not for the 30-year-old this season, especially as the Red Devils are languishing in 14th and at one stage, a relegation battle looked on the cards.
And that hypothesis could have come true with Fernandes revealing he had mulled over leaving last summer after receiving a lucrative proposal.
But the club convinced him that the rebuild would ensure the 20-time English league champions return to the top of English football and as a result, the versatile genius opted to stay back and sign a new deal until 2027.
Refused to leave last summer
“I sat with the club because I had an offer to leave. We talked about the possibility of me leaving the club or staying. They said what they wanted from me.
“I just asked if they still see me as part of the future of the club or not. I spoke at the time with (Erik) Ten Hag also.
“He was very clear with me, the club was very clear with me, that they thought I would be a big part of this rebuild. I thought that we could be successful.”
Fernandes, more than anybody else, deserves to win something big at Old Trafford and hopefully, Amorim can be the one to finally break the Premier League trophy jinx at the club.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
