Wayne Rooney explains how Bruno Fernandes can lead United to Premier League glory

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has shed light on current captain Bruno Fernandes’ leadership skills. The Portuguese maestro is coming off a record-breaking campaign, during which he registered the most assists in a season by a Red Devils player in the Premier League era. Fernandes registered nine goals and 21 assists in the league for the English giants. In the process, the 31 year old broke Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne’s previous record for most assists (20) in a Premier League season. While United ended the campaign trophyless once again, Fernandes’ performances saw him sweep the individual awards. The Portuguese won the Premier League Player of the Season award and the FWA Footballer of the Year award, while also picking up his record fifth Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award. While he is one of the most creative players in the world right now, Fernandes has been under constant scrutiny for wearing his heart on his sleeve. This has led to questions regarding his suitability as United’s skipper. Bruno Fernandes Stats: 2025/26 Season CompetitionAppearancesStartsGoalsAssistsYellow CardsRed CardsMinutes Played Premier League35359215-3,068′ FA Cup11-1–90′ EFL Cup10—-45′ Total37369225-3,203′ Source: Transfermarkt. United’s creative fulcrum When Fernandes arrived at the Theatre of Dreams, Harry Maguire had just been appointed captain by former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following Ashley Young’s departure. The English defender, however, lost the armband in the summer of 2023, when Erik ten Hag selected the Portuguese as his skipper. Fernandes has been leading from the front ever since and has been the club’s creative fulcrum. Even during former head coach Ruben Amorim’s turbulent 14-month reign, the Portuguese midfielder remained the club’s sole shining light. When asked to sacrifice his position and operate in a deeper role earlier this season, Fernandes did just that, even adapting to the pivot role until the Portuguese head coach’s exit in January. Despite only being reinstated in his preferred No. 10 role in January by Michael Carrick, Fernandes managed to break the Premier League assist record, justifying his place among the crème de la crème of world football. However, that has not stopped the criticism, with the former Sporting man recently embroiled in a war of words with former skipper Roy Keane over prioritising individual achievements. Rooney, though, reckons that Fernandes’ leadership qualities cannot be questioned. Fernandes can lead United to the Premier League Speaking to talkSPORT, United’s record goalscorer hailed Fernandes as a very good captain and backed him to lead the team to Premier League glory. Rooney said: “I know around the training around, he’s doing things which a captain should do and trying to help and inspire people, so whatever’s being said, and we’ve all seen it, I think he’s a leader.” “He’s a very good captain for Manchester United and with a few more players around him, hopefully he can go and lead us to the Premier League.” Rooney was handed the armband in the summer of 2014, following the departure of Nemanja Vidic. The Englishman led the team for three seasons before leaving in the summer of 2017. By then, Wazza had scored a record 253 goals and set up 143 more for United. Only two other players have scored 100 goals and registered 100 assists for the Red Devils in their history – Ryan Giggs and current skipper Fernandes. Final Thoughts Fernandes’ contract expires in just over a year, so United must tie him down to a new deal this summer. The Red Devils also have to invest wisely in the squad this year to ensure their talismanic skipper has the right team-mates around him to power them back to the top. Featured image by Molly Darlington/Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Deepungsu Pandit Deepungsu has been a Manchester United fan since 2000. In his playing days, he was an attacking midfielder with a proclivity for the back heel. Right now, however, he prefers to operate as a regista. Deepungsu has been writing about the Red Devils, Football, and other things since 2009. He has worked for over seven years with Sportskeeda, writing football reviews, opinions and news articles. Deepungsu also maintains a blog, The Thinking Me, where he writes about life and things that interest him. His favourite Manchester United player is Paul Scholes.