Fernandes finally reacts to being made Man Utd captain at Maguire's expense

MIRROR

Bruno Fernandes says it is a “great honour” to have been appointed Manchester United’s new captain.

United boss Erik ten Hag has handed Fernandes the armband after deciding to end Harry Maguire’s spell as skipper. Former United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed Fernandes the captaincy in Maguire’s absence in 2021 for a Champions League game, when Maguire was unavailable.

Fernandes captained United 45 times last season, with Maguire having lost his place, but said being handed the armband on a permanent basis was a huge source of pride. “Obviously, it’s a great honour,” said Fernandes.

“The first time was in the Champions League against PSG. I was a little bit surprised by Ole, but obviously, I said to him at the time it’s just such an honour for me. I still have the armband and the shirt from that game, because I wanted to keep it for me, because this is something that is not for everyone.

“And it’s something that has to make you proud, has to make you understand that you are in a place where everyone would like to be: playing for Manchester United. Having the chance to have the armband and having that responsibility is such a big honour.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s clash against Arsenal, Fernandes said: “Yeah, it will be [special], because officially it will be the first time that I’m a club captain for the club. And obviously, I want to keep that one because I want to frame it both together to understand how long the [time between them] was.

“But it was really good to achieve this now because it means a lot for everything that you have done through your career to understand that you made a big thing to be a club captain of one of the biggest clubs in the world.”