(Football news) There was speculation surrounding the Portugal international’s future earlier this summer, and he recently admitted that he had “concrete offers” to leave during the current market.
However, it was announced that week that the 29-year-old had signed a contract with the 20-time English champions until June 2027, with the option of a further 12 months.
Fernandes will again wear the armband for Manchester United this season, and he captained the team to a 1-0 victory over Fulham in their Premier League opener last Friday.
The Portuguese has said that he is confident the team will be able to compete for major trophies due to the changes which have occurred both on and off the field since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival as a minority shareholder.
Fernandes explains reasons for signing new Manchester United deal
“The club knew that I want to compete with the best teams. They knew that we needed to improve the team. And I think that we’re doing that,” Fernandes told.
“Obviously, I said to them: ‘I don’t need you to promise me that we’re going to win the league.’ Because no-one can promise that. But at least that we will have a team to compete and be competitive through the season, to try to achieve silverware and to compete in the highest levels.
“I think the club is doing that. It’s trying to bring people in to get more players with quality in the team; to get more competitive, [so everyone is] fighting for your place.
“But my first choice was always to stay at the club. It was not even demands, but the things that I wanted to see: the club going forward, [so] I could see a future on that. To be honest, I look now and I see that the club is making an effort for that.
“When there’s a change, it’s a different mood and it’s really nice. At the beginning, it’s always the best part, because you get to know each other, there are new ways of working.
“But then we have to get this going into the season and understand that it’s going to get to a point that’s repetitive, but we need to keep the same enthusiasm that we had at the beginning.
Fernandes calls Manchester United move “a dream come true”
“When I joined, it was a dream come true. I think everyone knows that it was my dream to play in the Premier League for Manchester United. I had the chance to put that together. I wanted to play in the Premier League, and my favourite club was Manchester United. Being lucky enough to do both, it’s something unbelievable.
“Obviously, my love for the club hasn’t changed. It has grown. Because you get to know the city, you get to know the fans, and you get to know how the people live here. How the way they approach the day-by-day; the way they approach the game-day. It’s different from every country.
“Me and my wife, when we just arrived back in Manchester, we said: ‘It feels like home.’ It’s something strong to say, even more [from] my side, because I’m a real home person and I love my country, I love my city.
“So for me to say that, and my wife saying that ‘It feels like home here’, it’s something that means a lot. Because I love my friends, I love my family, I love to be in Portugal for the time I spend there. And to have the same kind of feeling when I’m here, it’s really something special.”
Fernandes made the switch to Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020, and he has represented the Red Devils on 235 occasions in all competitions, scoring 79 goals and registering 67 assists in the process.
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