Bruno Fernandes has dismissed claims has hampered his form at and says his ‘poor season’ last term was his own fault.
The 28-year-old’s form collapsed last term, with Fernandes scoring ten goals in 48 appearances in all competitions.
While that’s still respectable, Fernandes managed 28 goals in the campaign before Ronaldo joined.
Fernandes and Ronaldo were international team-mates before the legend returned to Old Trafford.
But it wasn’t just Fernandes’ form that suffered when the 37-year-old returned to the Theatre of Dreams, with United finishing sixth last season following a second place finish in 2020/21.
But Fernandes has hit out at claims he cannot play with Ronaldo and says people are wrong to draw a link between that and his form.
‘Most of my assists last season were for him, so I don’t think (it is fair),’ Fernandes told the Athletic.
‘I just had a poor season in terms of my own numbers. I don’t think it is about Cristiano.
‘Before he came I was taking the penalties but I had two chances to take them last season and I missed both. So I cannot blame Cristiano for taking penalties, especially when he scores them.
‘When I missed against Arsenal in April, it was him who gave me the ball and said, ‘Go yourself and score’. I missed but I felt that he trusted me to be the one to step up in the big moment.
‘So I don’t think it is because of Cristiano, it is because I didn’t do the best in myself in some moments to get goals or assists. In the national team I play with him and when I score, he is on the pitch.
‘To play with Cristiano as a No 10 is actually really good because players respect him so much that it creates more space, as the opponents are afraid of him taking the ball and scoring.
‘They want to mark him and they create an overload where he is to mark him.
‘When I scored two goals against North Macedonia (in March’s World Cup play-off), one was from his assist and the other was from his run, which created the space behind him for me to score.
‘I played the last four Premier League games without Cristiano starting and I scored only one goal. So it is not because of Cristiano. Sometimes it goes in a bad way and sometimes a better way.’
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