After Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag will undoubtedly see a significant leader return.
The Portuguese team, which is vying to win the 2022 World Cup this winter, is supported by Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Erik ten Hag and Fernandes, who would be much better off without than with his 37-year-old compatriot, are undoubtedly pleased with Ronaldo’s departure from Manchester United.
Under Ten Hag, the No. 8 has been among United’s most important players, as one might anticipate. The things that Ronaldo does best—score goals and provide assists—have been tarnished by his presence and desire to be the center of attention for any team he is on.
In 520 minutes of football, while playing on the same team as Ronaldo in the Premier League this season, Fernandes hasn’t assisted on a single direct goal.
While Fernandes’ production has decreased significantly while he has been off the field, he has still managed to score twice and provide an assist in 650 minutes. This is still an improvement over his Old Trafford production rate.
Despite this, Fernandes’ success has been demonstrated for longer than just the beginning of this season.
Just review his wacky stats from his first and a half seasons and compare them to the two seasons following the No. 7’s return to M16.
Fernandes produced a remarkable 45 direct goal contributions in 51 Premier League games from the time of his United arrival in January 2020 until the end of the 2020–21 season.
To establish himself as one of Europe’s top midfielders, he scored 26 goals and provided 19 assists during that time, contributing once every 96 minutes on average.
But after Ronaldo made his triumphant return to Old Trafford in the summer of 2021, his productivity dropped.
In contrast to the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who was scoring goals for fun for a struggling team, Fernandes has only managed 12 goals and seven assists in his last 49 league appearances.
