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Manchester United superstar Bruno Fernandes has dedicated a heartfelt message to Fernando Santos after the coach stepped down as Portugal's manager.
Santos’s Portugal were eliminated by history-makers Morocco in the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Buoyed by a 42nd-minute strike by Youssef En-Nesyri, the Atlas Lions picked up a 1-0 victory over the 2016 European Champions. In the aftermath of Os Navegadores’s disappointing World Cup display, Santos opted to stand down as head coach of the national men’s team.
Manchester United maestro Bruno Fernandes took to Instagram to thank Santos for his service.
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His post read:
“Many thanks to mister Fernando Santos. Thank you for the opportunity to represent our country and for the trust in us over the past few years.
“As a Portuguese, thank you for putting Portugal at the top of Europe and returning confidence and belief to a "small" country that it was possible to be among the "big ones". Moments of glory and joy and others of sadness and frustration, but history was made and will forever be marked in the hearts of all Portuguese.”
Santos leaves Portugal after eight years of service, during which he fired them to a European Championship title and a UEFA Nations League trophy. Manchester United ace Bruno Fernandes played 53 games under Santos, scoring 13 goals and claiming 11 assists.
Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes was Portugal’s best player at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Goncalo Ramos may have made numerous headlines with his sensational hat-trick in the 6-1 win over Switzerland in the Round of 16, but he wasn’t Portugal’s best player in Qatar. That particular title is reserved for Manchester United No. 8 Bruno Fernandes.
The attacking midfielder was at the heart of everything positive for Portugal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He scored two goals to fire his country to a 2-0 win over Group H rivals Uruguay and also claimed three assists: two against Ghana and another against Switzerland.
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he created five big chances, averaged 2.2 key passes per game, attained 88% passing accuracy (44 passes average), and made zero defensive errors. It was a display of sublime intelligence and technical mastery by the former Sporting CP star.
