Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has expressed his anguish in a statement following Portugal’s World Cup exit at the hands of Spain. A late Mikel Merino strike saw his country eliminated at the last-16 stage, and Fernandes has now delivered his official response. He wrote on X: “Sad, frustrated, and disillusioned. This group of players made my expectations high, not only for the quality, but also for the fact of the incredible group that we built over these years.
“Thank you to all the players, technical team, and all the staff who accompanied and helped us every day during the World Cup. To all the Portuguese, a huge thank you for your support and belief.” Fernandes featured in every Portugal match at the tournament but registered just one assist, with a second-place group-stage finish leaving his country facing a difficult route to the final.
A stoppage-time winner against Croatia carried them through the last-32 stage, but they then encountered European champions Spain in the next round, who had yet to ship a goal at the competition.
Roberto Martinez’s team held out for 90 minutes, but Merino drifted into the area in the opening minute of stoppage time and beat Diogo Costa to settle the tie.
In the immediate wake of the loss, Cristiano Ronaldo was seen visibly distraught in what was anticipated to be his final World Cup outing. It was certainly the last match for Martinez, with the former Everton and Wigan manager stepping down from his role.
While United might have preferred to see Fernandes progress deeper into the tournament, such an early departure means he and Diogo Dalot will return for pre-season ahead of the likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Lisandro Martinez and Noussair Mazraoui, who have all reached the quarter-finals.
Transfer business has dominated proceedings at Old Trafford in recent weeks, and that focus is almost certain to continue throughout July.
United are yet to officially announce a new arrival, but Brazilian midfield pair Ederson and Andrey Santos are anticipated to complete moves to the club.
An agreement for the former has been in place for some time, while the Chelsea star is poised to join in a £50million deal finalised only earlier this week.
Wrexham represent United’s first pre-season opponents, with that friendly scheduled to take place in just nine days. Michael Carrick’s side also face Rosenberg in July before taking on Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Leeds and AC Milan the following month.