Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has expressed his willingness to leave the club if his exit would help facilitate a financial or structural rebuild following their 1-0 Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao.
The defeat, marked by Brennan Johnson’s scrappy goal, capped off a dismal season for United, who are languishing in 16th place in the Premier League — their worst position since relegation in 1974.
Fernandes, 30, admitted that although he wants to stay and help rebuild the club, he would respect any decision from the management to “cash in” on him to raise funds for reinforcements.
“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.”
Despite being a standout performer throughout the season, Fernandes failed to make a meaningful impact in Wednesday’s final at San Mamés Stadium.
‘Very Sad Day’
The Portuguese midfielder described the loss to Spurs as a crushing disappointment.
“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.”
Support for Amorim
Fernandes also defended manager Ruben Amorim, who himself had offered to walk away from the club without seeking compensation if United no longer wanted him.
“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 that 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.”
Amorim’s tenure since joining in November has been under intense scrutiny. Under his leadership, United have managed only six league wins, contributing to their worst league campaign in over half a century.
