Which two ex-Reds does Bruno have his sights on?

Skip to Main NavigationSkip to content

Saturday 15 March 2025 08:00

Inside United made the most of some time with Bruno Fernandes at Carrington to go over his current standing on the all-time appearance list at the club.

Our super skipper has been motoring up the chart by racking up the games since signing from Sporting in 2020.

He celebrated his 275th competitive outing for United with a stunning free-kick goal in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal, followed by an electric hat-trick against Real Sociedad in his 276th.

Fernandes has moved ahead of Norman Whiteside, Henry Cockburn and Andy Cole in the last week, and is now  joint-72nd with Johnny Berry.

Initially perusing our giant printout of the list, Bruno told the official magazine (on sale now) that Juan Mata quickly stood out for him.

The two were pals during their time together at Old Trafford, with Bruno taking over the Spaniard’s no.8 shirt, when he departed for Galatasaray in 2022.

“All of them,” he responded, when asked who was in his sights. “But, obviously, I was just talking about Juan. He will be a good one to overtake, just because of the relationship we have. How good it would be to be ahead of him on something!”

Mata is sat in 67th place, after playing 285 times for the Reds.

While reaching the summit is an impossible task, with Ryan Giggs amassing an incredible 963 matches for his boyhood side, one of the legendary winger’s former team-mates is somebody who Fernandes is hoping to reel in at some point. 

“No, Giggsy, I think will be there for many, many years!” agreed our reigning Player of the Month. “Even the other ones, I think it’s a tough one but, obviously, there are many of them. I would probably say I’m going to that [Nemanja] Vidic one, with 300 games, it would be very special.

“Obviously, I think 300 games, for any club, it’s very, very special and then, obviously, I want to do as many as I can. Obviously, I’m trying to be always available for the team and to try to help and, I think, do as much as I can to help the club and to play more and more. I will try my best to do it.”

Bruno Fernandes wants to get one over on his pal Juan Mata.

If you narrow the criteria down to non-UK and Irish players, then Bruno is just outside the top 10. That goal would be achieved by moving past Mata and, of course, Serbian hardman Vidic, like Fernandes a former captain of the club, is also on this particular list.

“Juan, I will go for you,” promised our Portuguese magnifico. “I’ll go for you first, for in the list being in the top 10 of the club for foreign players. But it’s always special.

“Every game, every appearance, it’s something special. All of these ones I have done until now. All of them have some special feelings, obviously some good results, some bad results. Some others that we wanted to do differently but it’s always a pleasure to represent the club.”

Read the interview in full, across 12 pages, in the latest edition of Inside United, the official club magazine.

Bruno Fernandes would love to match Nemanja Vidic’s appearance record.

ALL-TIME UNITED APPEARANCES

1. Ryan Giggs – 963

2. Sir Bobby Charlton – 758

3. Paul Scholes – 718

4. Bill Foulkes – 688

5. Gary Neville – 602

70. Roger Byrne – 280

71. Luke Shaw – 278

72. Johnny Berry – 276

72. Bruno Fernandes – 276

73. Henry Cockburn – 275

73. Andy Cole – 275

TOP NON-UK & IRE APPEARANCE-MAKERS

1. David De Gea – 545

2. Peter Schmeichel – 398

3. Patrice Evra – 379

4. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – 366

5. Mikael Silvestre – 361

6. Cristiano Ronaldo – 346

7. Antonio Valencia – 339

8. Anthony Martial – 317

9. Nemamja Vidic – 300

10. Juan Mata – 285

11. Bruno Fernandes – 276

All records correct as of 14/3/2025.

Recommended:Bruno’s stunning free-kick Video

Bruno’s stunning free-kickMATCH MOMENT | Here’s your excuse to watch Bruno’s world-class free-kick all over again…

When Bruno nearly won it! Video

When Bruno nearly won it!MATCH MOMENT | In added time, Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya produced a superb double save to prevent Bruno Fernandes…

90 in 20: United v Arsenal Video

90 in 20: United v Arsenal90 in 20 | Sunday’s battle with Arsenal was action packed – watch the extended highlights here…

Saturday 15 March 2025 08:00

Back to Top