Bruno Fernandes has admitted that he was angered when Sporting Lisbon rejected Tottenham’s offer to sign him in the summer of 2019, six months before his move to Manchester United.
Even though Fernandes has not quite managed to maintain the same form he showed in his first 12 months in the Premier League, the attacking midfielder continues to be one of United’s most important players.
However, the 28-year-old almost signed for Spurs before joining United, with the North London club making a move for him in the summer of 2019, which turned out to be Mauricio Pochettino’s last transfer window at the club.
Tottenham were reportedly in negotiations with Sporting for Fernandes that summer (Standard) but the Lilywhites failed to agree on a fee with the Portuguese club.
The Red Devils ended up paying £67.6m to bring him to Old Trafford in the subsequent January transfer window (BBC Sport).
Fernandes has now admitted that he was keen on joining Spurs and was not happy when Sporting decided to reject the Lilywhites’ offer.
The United star told The Athletic: “Obviously, I wanted to go to the Premier League. The manager, Mauricio Pochettino, was the one who wanted me there. It was a good offer but Sporting tried their best to keep me.
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“The president (Frederico Varandas) spoke with me but he spoke with me on the wrong day. It was the day after they decided to refuse the offer from Tottenham and I was really angry. Luckily for me, the manager (Marcel Keizer) was the right one at the right time.”
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The impact Fernandes made in his first few months in the Premier League, made it seem like Spurs had made a huge mistake by not getting the deal over the line.
However, the 28-year-old has blown quite hot and cold since then, and one can argue that he has not shown to be worth anywhere near the £67.6m fee that United paid for him.
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