Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes posed for a selfie with a young fan before the preseason match against Leeds United at Crocker Park in Dublin. Simon Stone noted that Fernandes is more inclined to stay at Manchester United, or even finish his career with the club.
On this historic night at Kroc Park, Bruno Fernandes was the center of attention.
The Gaelic Athletic Association Stadium, with a capacity of 82,500, hosted the first "soccer" match between English teams, and the packed stadium erupted in one of the loudest cheers of the night in the first hour. Earlier, during Manchester United's preseason match against Leeds United, manager Michael Carrick called out Fernandes' name, adding him to the five substitutions, to a thunderous applause.
The atmosphere in the stadium could have been even more electric if Fernandez's offside goal hadn't been disallowed, or if his shot from the edge of the box hadn't hit the crossbar.
The fans' adoration for him eventually spiraled out of control. First, one fan rushed onto the field to take a selfie, followed by a second and a third. After 90 minutes, the scene was chaotic, and the match went straight to penalties without any added time.
Surprisingly, Fernandez missed his penalty, but Mazraoui stabilized the situation minutes later, helping his team to a 5-4 victory. The match was prematurely ended when the score was 1-1 in regulation time.
Compared to preparing for the new season, this result is not important.
But the fans' reaction to Fernandes at the stadium was enough to show that his idol status in the hearts of Manchester United fans had already been established, even before he scored 9 goals and provided a record 21 assists last season, helping Manchester United finish third in the Premier League and return to the Champions League.
Fernandes is the most admired player among Manchester United fans.
However, after the debate surrounding the 31-year-old's future last summer, with Saudi professional league team Al-Hilal making a huge offer, Manchester United may face another test this time.
It is understood that Juventus, AC Milan, and Galatasaray are all interested in the Portuguese midfielder. His release clause applies to overseas clubs and amounts to £57 million.
It remains to be seen how Manchester United will respond if they receive an offer. Last December, Fernandes admitted that he was "hurt" when he learned that Manchester United had given him the power to decide whether to accept Al-Hilal's offer.
His contract is now in its final year, with an option to extend it for another year, but the two sides have not yet reached an agreement on a new contract.
It is widely believed that Fernandes would prefer to stay at Manchester United, and may even stay until the end of his career.
In April of this year, during his last visit to the Republic of Ireland with the team, he stated that he hoped to compete for the championship. It is understood that this attitude has not changed.
However, given Manchester United's efforts to control wage expenditures, Fernandes could certainly earn a high salary based on his contributions, while Rashford is currently the highest-paid player in the team since his return.
Manchester United's management may be facing a problem that is not easy to solve.
It's safe to say that Carrick won't want to lose the midfielder who previously played for Sporting Lisbon.
Currently, the partnership between Fernandez and new signing Tielemans is beginning to yield results.
It was Tielemans who provided the assist for his shot that hit the post, a short pass that showed the growing understanding between the two. The Belgian midfielder also spoke about this in a media interview on Tuesday.
