Baffled Manchester United fans made their feelings clear about Bruno Fernandes after Portugal’s cagey quarter-final encounter against France at Euro 2024 on Friday.
Portugal punched their ticket to the quarter-finals after the Euro 2016 champions beat a resilient Slovenia side on penalties in the round of 16 on Monday.
France, on the other hand, managed to secure a narrow 1-0 win over Belgium on Monday to set up their last-eight showdown with France.
Both Portugal and France are among the favourites to win Euro 2024, with host nation Germany crashing out in the quarter-finals after a defeat to Spain.
Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot both linked up with former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo as part of Portugal’s 26-man squad for the Euros.
Man Utd star Fernandes vs France
Bruno Fernandes has been a key part of the Portugal squad under manager Roberto Martinez, with the Manchester United star securing regular minutes at Euro 2024.
The United captain played the full 90 minutes in the 2-1 comeback win against the Czech Republic before scoring in the 3-0 win over Turkey.
Fernandes was an unused substitute for the shock 2-0 defeat to Georgia in the Group F clash before returning to the starting XI for the Slovenia match.
The 29-year-old Portugal international started against France and had very little impact in the clash at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg.
Roberto Martinez made the surprise decision to pull Fernandes in the 74th minute and replaced him with Francisco Conceicao, despite the 0-0 scoreline at the time.
Man Utd fans react to Fernandes decision
United fans on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, were baffled by the decision to remove Fernandes from the match against France.
Red Devils supporters were quick to point out that club legend Cristiano Ronaldo remained on the pitch during regular playing time, despite his lack of impact.
However, United fans were in agreement that it was shocking for Martinez to withdraw Fernandes ahead of the quarter-final clash going to penalties.
One fan said: “I love Ronaldo, but taking Bruno Fernandes off before Ronaldo comes off is unbelievable. Was cheering for Portugal until now.”
Someone else added: “It is actually insanely stupid to take Bruno Fernandes off in any scenario, TBH.”
A third wrote: “In what world does Bruno Fernandes come off before a 40-year-old [actually 39] Ronaldo in a major tournament quarter-final [sic]?”
“Except there’s an injury concern, taking off Bruno Fernandes is a terrible decision when there’s a non-existent Ronaldo on the pitch,” another commented.
Someone else tweeted: “Roberto Martinez doesn’t deserve Bruno Fernandes.”
While a sixth posted: “Why would you take your best penalty taker off in Bruno Fernandes when this could possibly go to penalties?!”
And a seventh said: “Can’t understand the decision to take off Bruno Fernandes.”
Another argued: “Taking your set-piece master [off] is crazy business. Bruno Fernandes is potentially the best overall set-piece taker in the world.”