Inside Bruno Fernandes' tough upbringing: How the 'wild horse' gained his win-at-all-costs mentality after Man United star's rollercoaster week where he was branded a 'DISGRACE'
- last year
Gary Neville surveyed the wreckage of Manchester United's catastrophic 7-0 defeat by Liverpool and immediately pointed the finger of blame at Bruno Fernandes.
'I've had enough of him throwing his arms around at his teammates; I've had enough of him not running back; he whinges at everybody,' fumed the United legend in the Sky Sports studio.
Fernandes motioned with his arms where Antony should have been making his run, sparking a heated argument that culminated with the Brazilian appearing to call Fernandes a 'bull shit ' in Portuguese.
When playing for Sporting Lisbon he found himself at the center of controversy when a WhatsApp audio clip of him ranting about teammates was leaked to the media.
But in a sign of the standards Fernandes helps to set, most of the Sporting squad backed him.
There was then a shocking CCTV clip that showed Fernandes smashing two dressing room doors at his old club Boavista after he was sent off.
When a security guard intervened, Fernandes shouted: 'I'll pay for the bloody doors!'
Fernandes was frustrated at the time that a summer 2019 move to Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur had broken down, but he would realize his Old Trafford ambition a few months later.
His anger can be traced back to a tough upbringing in Portugal with coaches who worked with a young Fernandes describing him as a 'wild horse.'
He comes from a poor background in the industrial city of Maia. His father Jose worked in the Pia Belle textile factory and money was often tight for Bruno and his two siblings.
Though shy off the football pitch, he developed a fiery temperament on it as a teenager.
His under-15 coach at Pasteleira, Antonio Peres, told Sportsmail in 2020: 'He was like a wild horse. He had long hair like a girl and he was a rebel.
'He learned to play football in the street and his fight, his character, his language came from the streets.
'I've had enough of him throwing his arms around at his teammates; I've had enough of him not running back; he whinges at everybody,' fumed the United legend in the Sky Sports studio.
Fernandes motioned with his arms where Antony should have been making his run, sparking a heated argument that culminated with the Brazilian appearing to call Fernandes a 'bull shit ' in Portuguese.
When playing for Sporting Lisbon he found himself at the center of controversy when a WhatsApp audio clip of him ranting about teammates was leaked to the media.
But in a sign of the standards Fernandes helps to set, most of the Sporting squad backed him.
There was then a shocking CCTV clip that showed Fernandes smashing two dressing room doors at his old club Boavista after he was sent off.
When a security guard intervened, Fernandes shouted: 'I'll pay for the bloody doors!'
Fernandes was frustrated at the time that a summer 2019 move to Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur had broken down, but he would realize his Old Trafford ambition a few months later.
His anger can be traced back to a tough upbringing in Portugal with coaches who worked with a young Fernandes describing him as a 'wild horse.'
He comes from a poor background in the industrial city of Maia. His father Jose worked in the Pia Belle textile factory and money was often tight for Bruno and his two siblings.
Though shy off the football pitch, he developed a fiery temperament on it as a teenager.
His under-15 coach at Pasteleira, Antonio Peres, told Sportsmail in 2020: 'He was like a wild horse. He had long hair like a girl and he was a rebel.
'He learned to play football in the street and his fight, his character, his language came from the streets.