Bruno Fernandes has expressed his willingness to leave Manchester United if the club needs to sell him to fund a rebuild following their Europa League final loss to Tottenham.
United’s 1-0 defeat in Bilbao on Wednesday—decided by a Brennan Johnson goal—was the latest disappointment in a dismal season.
Following the match, manager Ruben Amorim stated he would walk away “without any conversation about compensation” if the club no longer wanted him.
Now, Fernandes, the 30-year-old captain, has echoed that sentiment, recognizing the club’s need to revamp the squad amid financial challenges.
“I have always been honest. I’ve always said I will be here until the club says to me that it’s time to go,” said Fernandes.
“I’m eager to do more, to be able to bring the club to the great days. On the day that the club thinks that I’m too much or it’s time to part ways, football is like this, you never know it.
“But I’ve always said it and I keep my word in the same way. If the club thinks it’s time to part ways because they want to do some cashing in or whatever, it is what it is and football sometimes is like this.”
Although Fernandes has been United’s top performer this season, he struggled to make an impact in the final at the San Mames stadium.
– ‘Very sad day’ –
He described the loss as devastating.
“We wanted to win more than anything in this final,” he said. “It’s a very sad day because we’ve done some very good things in this competition until today.
“But today (Wednesday) was the day that mattered, the most important day of the competition. It was the day we could have been in the history of the Europa League, but it’s not like that. And football is cruel, and it’s been our turn to lose.”
Since arriving at United in 2020, Fernandes has been a key figure. Despite the club’s poor run under Amorim, he remains confident in the manager’s leadership.
United have only managed six league wins under Amorim and currently sit 16th in the Premier League, facing their worst season since the 1974 relegation.
“We (the players) just agreed that he’s the right man,” said Fernandes. “He has done a lot of good things. We know that the manager is looked at by the results.
“Obviously we see more than that as players. We know for everyone it will be about him bringing back the positivity in the club.
“To try to bring the club back to fight for trophies, fight for the big trophies. And we all agree that he’s the right man.”