Rio Ferdinand—‘Only Lionel Messi is above Bruno Fernandes on creative levels’

Manchester United Bruno Fernandes in action against Sevilla

Rio Ferdinand—‘Only Lionel Messi is above Bruno Fernandes on creative levels’

Stephen Oladehinde 11:58 - 18.04.2023

Former Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has praised Bruno Fernandes creative ability and has said Lionel Messi is the only player above the Portuguese.

On Sunday, Man United defeated Nottingham Forest 2-0, with goals from Antony and Diogo Dalot with Fernandes playing a key role in the triumph.

The Portuguese has scored five goals and created six assists for Manchester United this season. He has been influential in his side’s progress as they continue their chase for the top four.

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Ferdinand hails Fernandes vision

Fernandes was neither on the score sheet nor assisting against Forest but was still praised by Ferdinand for his passing accuracy and vision.

On his Vibe with Five YouTube show, Ferdinand mentioned that Fernandes had only fallen short of Messi in terms of goals scored since joining Man United in January 2020.

Ferdinand said, “His passing, he's creating chances, His stats, only Messi rivals him in terms of goal involvements since he signed for United.

“I'm not saying he is on Messi's level, no one is saying that Bruno is on Messi's level, he's not, that’s obvious. But only Messi is above him in those stats.

“He needs [Christian] Eriksen to go to that other level. Eriksen the amount of easy passes he makes that are just great for team-mates."

In his 175 games for the club, Fernandes has scored 60 goals and 52 assists, which is a tremendous accomplishment for him.

Fernandes prefers the No 10 role

In recent weeks, Fernandes has taken on a more significant role as a result of injuries and suspensions. When Sabitzer injured himself during warm-ups, Eriksen entered the game as a late replacement, and the 28-year-old was able to reclaim his preferred No. 10 position against Forest.

As Casemiro returned from suspension, Eriksen joined the Brazilian in the middle of the field for his first start since suffering an ankle injury in January.

The Red Devils moved one step closer to securing a return to the Champions League by defeating Nottingham Forest and increasing the point to a six-point lead over fifth-placed Tottenham in the race for a top-four finish, with Ten Hag's side also having a game in hand.Read

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