He led Manchester United to 15th place in the Premier League last season. The 2025/26 season started better, but Ruben Amorim didn’t get the very best out of Fernandes or the United players. Immediately after the New Year, Amorim was sacked, with Carrick on the sidelines and captain Fernandes out on the pitch, United rose, not only in individual games as under the Portuguese, but in a series that secured the club 3rd place and a Champions League ticket. Already in March, Klopp, former coach of arch-rivals Liverpool, had named Fernandes player of the year in the world’s toughest league. Klopp was right.
Here is Klopp’s analysis in mid-March: “For me, Bruno Fernandes is the player of the year in the Premier League season 2025/26. People can focus on stats, but his impact on Manchester United goes far beyond that.”
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“When a player consistently carries a team like he does every single week, it’s world class. No discussion,” Klopp boasted.
– Listen, forget waving arms or shouting at the referees, look at the brain. Bruno Fernandes thinks football when others are hiding. He sees the pass before the camera even finds it,” Klopp continued.
“The courage to say ‘give me the ball, I’ll fix this’ in the Premier League? It’s a monster mentality. And because he has that mentality, he becomes the heartbeat of the team. You need players who want the ball in tough moments, and he always wants it. That’s why he’s so important to them,” Klopp concluded.
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On Saturday, Bruno Fernandes was named Premier League Player of the Year. 8 goals and 20 assists before the last game, in a season with a change of manager, confirms Klopp’s label on the Portuguese. “Monster mentality!”
