Bruno Fernandes ‘sad’ rival £100m Premier League midfielder did not join Man United

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has admitted he is ‘sad’ that Declan Rice opted to move to Arsenal in 2023.

Rice secured a £100m switch to the Gunners three years ago and has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best midfielders.

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The England international has been a driving force in Arsenal’s Premier League and Champions League pursuit.

Indeed, Mikel Arteta’s side are two points clear of title rivals and FA Cup finalists Manchester City at the top of the table with two games to play.

The Gunners welcome Burnley to the Emirates on Monday before ending the Premier League campaign with a game against UEFA Conference League finalists Crystal Palace.

The north London side then see out the season with the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest at the end of the month.

And should Arsenal secure the double, then Rice will have played a key role behind the end to their lengthy wait for major domestic and continental silverware.

Things, though, could have been so different for Rice, who was linked with a move to Manchester City before securing his big-money move to Arsenal.

Fernandes, meanwhile, has revealed his sadness that the 27-year-old never moved to United, adding that the England star would have been ‘perfect’ for the Manchester giants.

“I’ve always said, Rice was a player to play for Man United, I was really sad when he chose to go Arsenal,” Fernandes told JoelbeyaTV.

“I always thought he would be a perfect fit for our club.”

Fernandes pipped Rice to the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award having enjoyed yet another superb season in a United shirt.

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The Portugal international has registered 19 league assists this season, and is one off equalling the record setting by Thierry Henry in 2002-03 and matched by Kevin De Bruyne in 2019-20.

“Obviously it’s always nice to see a lot of people have voted for you and I know this is a massive award in the UK and for me it’s very special to do it,” Fernandes said of his award win.

“It also comes from people who follow football from all around the UK, people who work in the background behind the players and it makes it very special.

“Of course, you like to see good things out there about you – you don’t like it as much when it’s not so good – but it’s part of the job.

“Obviously when these moments come, I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be here on behalf of the people who voted for me and also the ones who didn’t vote for me and who made other choices.

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“Obviously everyone has different opinion, different tastes, but I’m very happy and very honoured to receive this award.

“It means a lot, I’ve always said that I’d rather it was a collective award rather than individual ones but, as a player, you would rather this type of occasion to also show you are doing things right.

“But also I want to achieve everything that those (other United) players achieved in terms of winning with the club. But being in their company with this award is massively important for me and I won’t hide from that.

“We know, as I’ve said before, it’s a collective job what we do but when individually you get recognised for what you’ve done during the season it feels very special.”

Fernandes will look to reaffirm the decision by voters to hand him the accolade when United host Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford on Sunday.