[Interviewer]: In the in the football career, you go through a lot ups and downs and a lot of difficult moments. And let's say the ones that suffered most family, they see your good moments, your bad moments, your good side, your bad side also, but they always stand by you. Your time at Manchester United has been a bit of a roller coaster like this. And so on that day when you get a big offer to leave Manchester United for a contract that was worth reportedly 200 million, why didn't you go?

[Interviewer]: It's Captain Fantastic. Manchester United's captain Bruno Fernandes has arguably become their greatest player in the post Ferguson era. There isn't a single player in the Premier League who has more assists since his arrival. He's won more club player of the year awards than Ronaldo and only five players have scored more than his 70 league goals. So, I'm at the Manchester United training ground to ask him the questions the footballing world wants to know, including recently Roy Keane criticized your mentality based on a quote he claimed you said. How do you respond to that?

[Bruno Fernandes]: He came criticizing me, killing me, saying that I'm not good enough, that I'm not a good captain, that I'm not a good player for the club. It's okay. I don't mind. What I don't like is when people lie about things. I even asked Ole his number to have a word with him.

[Interviewer]: Did you speak to him?

[Bruno Fernandes]: Not yet.

[Interviewer]: Bruno. To understand somebody, I always think you have to start with where they started and the the early context that they grew up in. And we were just talking before we started recording about Porto. I'm on a journey to understand why you are the way that you are because you're such an anomaly on the pitch and your your career when I track the journey of where you've come from and how you continually were promoted and pushed forward at a very young age is clear to me that your early context your early upbringing and whatever it was that was present at that age has shaped you in some very very important way what is the sort of earliest thing I need to understand about where you came from and that environment

[Bruno Fernandes]: for me is all about family is about taking care of other people And I think to succeed not just in in sports but in life, you need to be you need to be very careful of of your surroundings. So I think the values of my family, the values of my of my parents were were what make me the person and the player I am today.

[Interviewer]: The older I've gotten, I'm now 33, so I think I'm 2 years older than you, the more I've realized actually with time what I learned from my parents and like the values that my dad in particular gave me. He never for a lot of the things it's not something he ever said to me. It's like modeling what he did. So seeing how he behaved.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yeah.

[Interviewer]: What's that for you?

[Bruno Fernandes]: It's it's kind of the same, you know, like um my father was never a person to to show his emotions too much or tell you what to do or how to do it. Uh he would just do it and you would understand by by by his behavior, by the way things that uh that was his way of showing us how he has to be doing. Was never a person of like hugging, kissing and stuff. He's got now into that even when I come out of games and stuff you see like I I I always get his hug. I always get the his kiss and this is something that I as a kid I knew how much he loved me but uh in in this small aspects was always my mom giving this kind of love. He was more uh in the way he was showing how things have to be done how how much you have to sacrifice yourself to certain things. My dad was very strong with me in term of like games.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Imagine I could come out of a game scoring two, three goals or whatsoever and my parents, my dad in this case will always pick up the bad moments I had in games to make me understand that wasn't that wasn't that was good but wasn't great. It's always margin to improvement. You know, it's always small things. And I think I've learned such from such a young age to deal with criticism that I'm now in probably in one of the biggest clubs in terms of like caring criticism and attention. That doesn't hurt me. Like I don't like it. Obviously, no one likes to get criticized, but it doesn't hurt me. It doesn't change the way I behave. It doesn't change the way I want to do things. But from the other side, it makes me understand there's still things to improve. And I listen to that and I I I I look at my game and I see if he's needed of changing of improvement in my game. And and my dad was always very strong in that with me.

[Bruno Fernandes]: And I see nowadays the parents, you know, my dad never wanted me to be a footballer. He wanted me to become a better person, a better player on or a better student. Everything I wanted I wanted to do, he just wanted to me to do it at like 100%. You need you want to do this, you have to do the best you can. You can't just be happy with you go to a test and let's say in Portugal was from zero to 100%. And you have 98 and you'll be the most happiest person in the world. No, you can be happy because that result is amazing. But you left 2% then that you still can improve. So you always showing me that even if it was just a small thing or a small detail, you still have something more to do. You still still have something more that you can improve or become better. And that's something that has stuck with me not just in football but in life. I don't like to do things 50% 60 70 or 80. Whenever I'm included in something, I want I want to go full. I want to learn as much as I can. I want to be the best version I can in that aspect, whatever it is.

[Interviewer]: I mean, it's it's really interesting because I I I wonder to myself how you I think you started playing football at 5 years old.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yeah, five.

[Interviewer]: And were you good from 5 years old? Were you were you different from your peers at a young age?

[Bruno Fernandes]: In such a young age, I I never think about being a footballer. I just wanted to play football for life. I'm just happy playing football. I just want to have this ball in my feet every time, all time.

[Interviewer]: And you joined uh FC Infesta.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yeah, that was my first club

[Interviewer]: at 5 years old. I mean, I've got some photos of you as as a young man here. I've got so many photos here, but you must be roughly around that age then. And remarkably, I read that after one training session, they moved you into the older group and you played with people two years older than you when you were four, five years old.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yeah, I was five playing with a seven years old.

[Interviewer]: Why did they move you into a different group?

[Bruno Fernandes]: I went for the first session and it was a football session. Five aside uh but like an indoor thing. Um and uh after that first session, they told me that like no, you need to get on the grass. And then I think it comes just u you know I looked at the other players and at the other other people that were training with me and I didn't want to be better than them. I just wanted to like getting getting at them was the same at getting at my brother that was five years old than me. For me it was no difference. If I have to beat him up I will beat him up. You know like one v one I'm going to go past him. I have to tackle I'm going to tackle him. He's going to tackle me stronger. It doesn't matter. I tackle him again. And and I was I had no fear. And I think that was the thing that make me become better and better because I was never the best. Like technical ability, yes, I was good. Was the best? No. Speed. Was I quick? Yeah, I was quite the quick. Was this the quickest? No. I was the strongest. No. I was the tallest. No. But I had no fear of anything of that. I had to sprint with someone that was quicker than me. I'm going to sprint with him and I'm going to I might not beat him, but I'm going to get close to that.

[Interviewer]: I actually read that you were so aggressive that referees sometimes asked your coach at Infesta Sergio to sub you off otherwise they'd have to send you off.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yeah.

[Interviewer]: I mean that kind of correlates with what you were saying there about fear.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yeah.

[Interviewer]: You were aggressive.

[Bruno Fernandes]: I was I that's what I mean. Like I had I had no fear, you know, like I I wouldn't look at faces or sizes whatsoever and think like oh he's bigger than me, you know, like he's going to he's going to be stronger than me or whatever. I would get into any any any ball in any moment in in the game with with no fear at all. And this is probably the best times in my career between Infesta and Bu Vista because this one is Infesta. This one is at Vista when I just I stayed probably a year at Infesta and Buista got me straight away.

[Interviewer]: And you moved quickly um up and up and up and up. And that was one of the remarkable things I noticed when I looked at you starting playing at 5 years old getting promoted to an older team and then quickly almost in all the clubs, you know, up I'm looking at when you were 17 years old and you left Portugal and moved to Italy to join Navara.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yeah.

[Interviewer]: And after three months there, you were promoted to the first team. Um, and but then you very quickly joined Udinazi.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yes.

[Interviewer]: And at Udazi, you met a guy called Franchesco. I can't pronounce his surname, but Goudellini.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Guidelini. Yeah.

[Interviewer]: He was really, really formative in your career, wasn't he? You were what, 18, 18 years old.

[Bruno Fernandes]: 18 years old. Yeah.

[Interviewer]: Why was he such an important part of your career? What did he teach you or give you at Udemy?

[Bruno Fernandes]: He was the manager that probably gave me the basis and the foundation to be fearless and express myself, you know, like to get my head out of so many things that were going on. And as a young kid that has just made step into the area and he's like, I need to now is the moment I need to show myself. But he was like, you don't you you showed me that you have the qualities when you were in second division in Italy. That's why we bought you. And to be honest, I was on the edge of coming to Watford on loan.

[Interviewer]: Watford.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yeah. Because the is the same ownership

[Bruno Fernandes]: and uh we're getting at the edge of the transfer window. They just bought me and obviously they had a big squad with a lot of players and they were like we're going to send you to Watford. You're going to you're going to be there playing for them blah blah. And I was like what have I done? Like I wasn't I wasn't good enough. And then in the same moment they called me to go to the auto pack my stuff cuz it was like last days this pack my stuff. I was with with my girlfriend wife now and she was like uh don't worry we're going to we're going to go anywhere else and you're going to you're going to succeed. And I said but why can I make it here? Like what what what was that I did wrong that like the manager is like not looking at me the same that is looking to other players and in my head was like have I done something wrong? I've not like showed my full potential. Have I not shown that I'm good enough to be in this team?

[Bruno Fernandes]: And I don't know why in the middle of all this thought the sporting director called me again and says Bruno you can't go anymore. The manager wants you to stay. He says he loved you. He loves your attitude. He wants you to learn from him. He wants you to understand how he wants to play and everything. He says you might not play much this season but he's pretty sure that you you are the type of player that will succeed at this club. And then we had many conversations and I think when you want a manager for young players that very quick will play and will think like oh I'm I'm the guy now he's going to make you understand stay calm I got you but you're still not there. And he was so good for me. He was like a father figure, you know, like but not just for me. If you speak with every player that was there at that time, they knew they were important for him because he always showed that.

[Bruno Fernandes]: And that's why we made me so much more complete in terms of understanding the moments and the process that managers have to go through their heads and what they think about players that is better or whatsoever that you don't understand. Whenever a manager puts you on the bench, you just think doesn't like me. He's he's doing this because he makes he wants to make another one play. what but the way he did it with me and all the players that were around me at that time we were so happy that their environment was very very good

[Interviewer]: as a young man when you're this age you're 18 years old what are your dreams and if I'd asked you at the time what does your future look like what would you have said to me

[Bruno Fernandes]: as soon I I became a professional player I I was like I want to be on on on the top clubs I want to play for for the big clubs I want to be in the Champions League I want to to play for trophies I want to become the players I'm looking at I I want I want to become like them.

[Interviewer]: Did you think you could?

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yeah, always. I've never I never doubt.

[Interviewer]: And at 22, you get a call um and you returned to Portugal and signed a 5-year deal with Sporting in a deal worth reportedly 8.5 million. That next season, you scored 20 goals and added 13 assists, which was unheard unheard of for a player in your position. And what I read as well is that Tottenham were interested in you at that time. Um, and it was it was at one point highly likely that you were gonna end up moving to Tottenham. I'm very glad you didn't as a Man United fan, but tell me about that. So, Tottenham call you.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yeah, I spoke with Tottenham and uh we were very close to get an agreement done. Um, then in the last two days or one day of market, the Sporting just said we we're not going to sell him. We're going to keep him because we need him. And

[Interviewer]: you wanted to go to Tottenham?

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yes, because I wanted to play in the Premier League.

[Interviewer]: Why?

[Bruno Fernandes]: because for me is the best league in the world. He's the most competitive one. He's the one that I think when you grow up you dream to play for you know like full stadiums, top clubs, top players. Obviously I was I was lucky enough that my dream club to play in England was Man United and obviously Tottenham at the time was the option I had and I was very very happy to join them because they showed me the process that they were going through. the manager that was there at the time they also really wanted me all the new things the new facilities and everything. So I was very happy with the with everything that I could see uh going forward but uh it didn't happen and for bigger reasons I I guess and then in January I got I got the call that uh I was I was hoping for for uh for two three years already.

[Interviewer]: Tell me about that call cuz I know Manchester United has has been you know in your eye for a long time. I mean you I know you grew up watching people like Cristiano Ronaldo play for this club and I think when he I think when he first played for Portugal you were you were a young guy. You were like eight eight or 10 years old or something and he had been a great star of Manchester United but but I think generally people of our age group we grew up in the heyday of Manchester United the Alex Ferguson era as well. So why Manchester United and can you zoom me in if I'm a fly on the wall when you get that phone call from your agent I guess that Manchester United are in I can see the smile on your face.

[Bruno Fernandes]: I was um let's say I was in my wardrobe. I was getting getting ready to go to bed. We just had to my wife was just putting uh kids to my daughter at that time. I only had my daughter uh to bed and I get the call from my agent. Uh I knew things were going on and everything, but after what happened with Tottenham, I didn't want to put my focus on transfer windows. And I I never did it in every step of my career that I've changed club. I always said to my agent whenever he's like 95% that the club really wants me and he's ready to make an offer tell me and then I decide if it's like the right moment and I want to go. Apart of that I'm like just keep him apart. Keep me apart. I don't want to know it. I don't want like to lose the focus of what I'm doing to something that I can't control. And after the Tottenham thing I was like even more because obviously I was basically done. And then all of a sudden last day Sporting just says like guys oh they text to them and say like we're not going to make it. So he called me and he said, "Brun, so you told me to not speak to you until we had something like concrete."

[Interviewer]: Concrete.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Concrete, but just so you know, they also have agreement already everything. So it's just on your side now to say yes or no. And I was like like yes or no to what? And he said, "Come on, you've seen the news." I said, my agent calls me guy said, "Miguel, the news are every day different. Every day they're going to put a new club that is interested in me. So I'm not I'm not going to be focused on that." He said, "Okay, many night is coming for you. I know I know this is like what you want. So, just so you know, this is this is the one that you've been waiting for. So, it's on you now to make a decision." And then, uh, for like 10 20 seconds, I didn't I didn't said anything. I was I was crying, but I didn't want to talk because, you know, like your voice starts going a little bit chalky. And then all of a sudden, my my wife gets into the wardrobe and he says, "I'm still on the call." And she goes like, "Why are you crying?" and like him on the phone say are you crying? I was like just I turned that off and I was like Miguel just called me and then in the moment I'm trying to explain to my wife what's going on. He's calling me like repetitively like I need an answer and I was like and my wife was like why are you crying so like this is like what you have dreamed for. like this is this is the moment you you're waiting for and I was like oh I don't know it's it's just too much like I I' I've never expected after everything that happened with Tottenham I would have got the chance to come to the Premier League again and having the chance to come to the Premier League with Man United is it's it's like 100% of the dream complete. So obviously then like uh I just I just call him back and I said like I don't even want to know anything else. Just tell them I'm going. Obviously, I was very good at sporting and I was very happy there because I I really enjoyed my time at sporting because was when I became probably the best version of of myself as a player where I improved so much in that two years and a half but then was like the dream of playing for the Premier League and I think from every sporting fund they really understood that was was ready for me to to go and do the next step.

[Interviewer]: And when you join, man, I mean, here's the famous photo of you signing with Manchester United.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Yeah,

[Interviewer]: it's funny the the smile that you still have on your face when you look at these pictures.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Same. Yeah, it's uh because I think when when you look back, as I said, like this is the day your dream comes true. So it's uh it's probably professional wise I think I put this one and sporting together because of the importance that sporting had in my career but obviously this this was the cherry on on top of the cake because this is where I wanted to be.

[Interviewer]: and you joined the club at a time when the club was in a bit of uh turmoil, struggling. You know, Sir Alex Ferguson has left. Um we've cycled through a bunch of managers and we've got um Olegosar as the manager at that point. I think the club was seventh in the Premier League when you joined. Um and it was going through a time of turbulence. You knew that Manchester United wasn't the most stable club in the world, but you chose to come here anyway. And based on your rec record at sporting, you would have had a lot of other opportunities to join a club that was more stable. That was, you know, and it's interesting because clubs can have a big impact on a player's future. Players can have a big impact on a club, but it also goes the the other way. And as someone that runs businesses, you know, the environment you join has a huge impact on everyone's behavior. No, no, irrespective of how hard you try. You chose to join a club that was at the time unstable.

[Bruno Fernandes]: Look, the the game I looked before I came here was I think Burnley, United Burnley and United loses at home 2-1. I don't remember exactly but I know I know they've lost that game and it was just like days before I came and I was like I I still think there is there's a lot of potential in that team and a part of having potential that team. I'm joining one of the biggest clubs in the world and I know that clubs go through periods where things don't go the way they want but sometimes it's not just because they're not great. It's just because other teams are being better than them. And that's that's fine because in football you're not going to win all the time. But the thing you can do is like you can bring your own values, your own experience, your own qualities and trying to help everyone else around you to become better to become the team you want to see.

[Bruno Fernandes]: And I think at that time that period of then we'd the co time and all the stuff but that period from there to the end of the season the team was unbelievable. and the season after we got second place and because we struggled in certain moments of keeping keeping up to to the standard of city that had a very good end of season but for me was like I wasn't like I I'll fix that. I was like I'm going to be the the magic magic powder that's going to solve all the problems. But I really knew that this club had something special and for me to join it was was like I can be part of something that is going to become great again and I still believe that and obviously it can take time it's taking more time than I thought. Yes, of course. But at that time I had too many dreams in my head and uh they still are here and still a lot of things that I want to achieve. But this smile and this guy that came here in 2020 is is still is still is still the same guy that wants to to win and succeed at this club.

[Interviewer]: I'm wondering, you know, because there's been so much said about the environment at Manchester United over the years. I I know a little bit about the environment when Sir Alex Ferguson was here because I interviewed a lot of his players and having been to Carrington before and uh actually going to the grounds and actually sitting in the hospitality lounge and waitresses coming over to me and talking about when Sir Alex Ferguson was here and how he knew everyone's name and then how it changed. I it was really interesting to me to get a lot of this feedback because it highlighted how small things in culture can have a big impact right down to the the way players play. And there's always a story that Gary Neville told me about with Wendy and her charity balls. He told me a story of players walking past Wendy who got the charity ball signed for a local charity and one day a couple of them didn't sign it and Sir Alex Ferguson came downstairs and he quote [__] killed us. And it's it's a strange thing to do like to care that much about a small detail in culture, but over time Gary told me he he understands why Sir Alex Ferguson cared so much. So my question to you is really about the cultural evolution at this club and what the fans are desperate to know about like how it's changed and how it feels different from the time you arrived in 2018 up until today.

[Bruno Fernandes]: I've brought in my behavior, my the way I've been raised and all these things. And I think every different player has brought different things to the to the club. But I think one of the things that has to be always there is the respect for people. And I think that says for me is a non-negotiable thing. Like if any player comes to this club and he doesn't respect the physios, the pe the stewards, the people that are in all the desks we have here, the people that work for us in the restaurant, the chefs and all these people that are around us taking care of us. Even if you don't see it or if you don't think it or whatever is for me is a non-negotiable thing that the respect has to be always there. And more than respect, the care you need to care about them because if you have a good foundation, a good base of respect and and care in in your club, it's going to get better. The environment gets better. Everything is more positive

[Bruno Fernandes]: because I think and and this is probably the way I've been raised. I treat everyone in the same way. I don't treat the players in a way that I don't treat the clean lady or the people that are in the front desk or the people that the stewards and at the entrance. You know, if I say good morning to these ones, I say good morning to this ones. I don't change that. If I give an shake to this ones, I give an shake to this one. If I greet them as I'm greeting my teammates, they will feel part of it. They will feel involved. They will feel as important as them. Even knowing that the role of them is completely different of the other ones because the the role of a CEO is one thing. But if the cleaner doesn't clean everything nice and leaves everything prepared and well well done and everything, you will notice that something is wrong. You will notice that this is not the place where you want to work for. You do you notice that you don't want to be the CEO of a company that has trash everywhere. And so why wouldn't you greet the person that takes care of you, takes care of your place to look so good and to make an impact when people come in from the outside?

[Interviewer]: It reminds me of something actually Johnny IV said. So Johnny IV is the famous Apple designer that designed all the Apple products that we know and love. And he said um it's very hard to feel care. He goes but everyone can feel when someone didn't care. You go to a restaurant and they didn't care. Small things. He goes but it's like he said um care is just this thing in the background this ambient feeling you have when you arrive somewhere but you can't you can't like point out exactly what it is but you can feel it.

[Bruno Fernandes]: That's the thing. I think it's more that you feel it but you don't see it. And I think touching this point I was I was talking about cleaners. My mom was a she was cleaning houses for work. So I never wanted the people that were cleaning the house to treat my mom badly or let's say downgrade the work she's doing for them because for example now I have a person that works in my house. I don't allow my kids to talk badly to her. I don't allow my kids to say grab that and put it in place. And I said it to her in the first day she came to work and I said if something is not in the in the right place obviously I want you to clean. I want you to put things in place. I want all of this. But I don't want my kids to tell you oh that uh arrange that or put this in place. No. If they want something they can ask you but first of all they need to be respectful. If they can't make it they have to ask you but in the respect way. But if it's something that they can make you have to make them make it. Not like, oh, you do it. No, just explain them how to do it. Show them the way so they learn with it. And this probably the way I behave with the people that work with me. It comes a lot because of my background of not like it to see my mom because I was not in the houses. Obviously, I don't know if they treated well or not. My mom never said to me that any of the people that she work for were bad bad to her or treat her in a in a bad way. So I really think that that made me understand that because I I don't want that for my mom, I won't make that to other people.

[Interviewer]: I've been a Man United fan since I was a kid. So like my siblings were born in Manchester. I was saying to you before I was born in um in Botswana in Africa, but because I've got two older brothers who are Man United fans, I very quickly became a Manchester United fan. I remember like 3 four years old and then as soon as I could when I was 18, I moved up from the southwest to Manchester at 18 years old and I lived here and went to my first Manchester United games. I've seen the club go on this incredible journey um from you know Sorax Ferguson's era to this sort of period of transition to where we are now and it's my observation my honest observation that after in the post Fergie era the club made some bad decisions as it relates to recruitment and culture. Um people often talk about um Edwards I'm not going to I'm not going to try and stitch you up in any way or get you to talk about anything in particular. I'm just expressing my opinion. They talk about Ed Woodward's uh strategy towards signing players and it being a bit flippant and then you look at the sort of group of lads that we had and just as a United fan watching on the pitch, I felt the culture was a bit confused because it didn't seem like it seems now where it seems like there's this really strong central agreement around the values. It felt a bit I don't know a bit like we had signed players because they were famous or big but not because they fit. And I feel when I look at the club now, I go, "Oh, these guys kind of fit." And whoever's doing recruiting is thinking about character. It feels to me like there's been this process over the last couple of years of getting rid of the wrong character profiles. And I think Amaran really spoke to this. He really talked about getting rid of the players that didn't have the right character profile. Just to add one more line to this. I've spoken to a lot of players at the club in past and present and they expressed the same to me as well that there was an issue with sort of character profile that has now been solved for.

[Bruno Fernandes]: I think the main mistake that the club has done through the years that we've changed manager to manager, they were very different and that's already a bad sign not of recruitment because then you bring in players that fit that manager. But the next one you brought plays a completely different way and the three or four or five that you bought don't fit this one anymore. And then you have to buy another four or five and then the constantly change of strategy in in in the club or in the way we wanted to play or whatsoever was not was not the best because then obviously it becomes that the players don't suit anymore. The system is not even more the character than it comes up but it's more the system. Then obviously we can talk about character that players that were certain players that were not a perfect fit for the club but you never know it until you bring it to the club. I think sometimes you can see it and I think is there players that I think the club by the behavior they have on the pitch or the behavior they have on on social media whatsoever you can see if they will be a fit for the club or not. And I think the main thing for the club as you said there you need to bring good characters because that will be more important to build something that good qualities because good qualities they all they will have. You don't bring a player to Man United that doesn't have qualities. But if you can add the qualities to the character, that's a win-win because the qualities will be moment that the quality won't be as good as you want because players go through periods that sometimes they play very good, sometimes they play very bad, but the character remains the same. And that's the character you want where they are on a low to be the right character to push himself to be on a high or at the same time when they are on the low to be the right character to push the other ones to be at at the top level. And I think that's the main thing that the club has to do in terms of recruitment and everything is bringing people first of all that want to be a Man United to play for Man United, not to be a Man United just because it's a big club. They want to be here because this is the club they think and they really understand that they want to succeed with this club. They want to bring this club back to the days we were used to see Man United. I know it's been 12, 13 years. I know, but we want that to get as short as possible to become that club that won 20 Premier League titles and is joined the most in the Premier League.

[Interviewer]: So character in a football club is more important than the quality because the quality you always going to get it and you can improve it. This is what I heard from Patrice Ever. I remember him telling me that he met Sir Alex Ferguson in in an airport, I think in France, and Sir Alex Ferguson sat him down and said, "Are you willing to die for Manchester United?" And he said, "Yes." And so he shook his hand. He said, "Welcome to Manchester United." And that's a different way of recruiting. He's not testing if he can kick a ball well. He's testing if he's got the heart and that mentality that I think Fergie and previous sort of cohorts of Manchester United really really cared about.

[Bruno Fernandes]: I think Sir Alex obviously he's done mistakes in recruitment too because obviously not every player was great but he always brings players in any time and any moment they would fit the club and that's the main thing I think in terms of recruitment but this is like something that is not for me to get involved but I will say it I understand the club has different manager coming in comes in and different ways of playing and whatsoever but the recruitment has to be for many United because the player will get normally a 5 years contract and the manager will get two and you know that if he's not something is not working the club [will change manager but the players remain. So you need to recruit players for the club. Whatever the manager wants to play, the character and qualities must be constant to succeed at Man United.]