Bruno Fernandes picks which Man Utd team-mate he’d self-isolate with

Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes says if he had to pick one team-mate to self-isolate with he would pick Juan Mata. 

The Red Devils have only just returned to training in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with the Premier League now hoping to restart in mid-June. 

While Fernandes only arrived at Old Trafford a few months before Covid-19 struck, he has wasted no time settling in on and off the pitch. 

Aside from his three goals and four assists for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, the Portuguese attacker has already formed a number of friendships, with Mata in particular endearing himself to Fernandes thanks to his musical exploits. 

“I would choose Juan, because if I isolate with Juan I can listen to my song all day, every day! He always sings it to me!” Fernandes told Manchester United’s official website when asked which team-mate he’d self-isolate with. 

“It’s not the atmosphere of Old Trafford, but Juan is the kind of guy who puts all his heart in the song, so when he sings the music for me is really nice!

“Normally I arrive before him, and he comes at breakfast, gives me his hand and starts to sing the song – Bruno, Bruno, Bruno!”

While life in lockdown has been tough for most footballers, Fernandes hasn’t struggled too much and has enjoyed the extra time he’s been able to spend with his new-born daughter. 

“Physically it’s easier than mentally, because you just need to follow the programme and you will be okay,” he said.

“Mentally it is also nice because I have my family with me so you can spend a lot of time with the family. I have my baby so I have a lot of time to be with her. Normally, if I have games and training, for most of the time I’m out sleeping in hotels and everything, so I don’t have the same time to be with her. So it’s nice to have this time.

“Obviously, it’s a lot of time and sometimes we don’t know how we can be active with her, because she has a lot of energy – more than me! So you need to play a lot with her [and do] different things.

“I think it’s easy because I remember when I grew up, in my home with my father, my mother, my brother and my sister, we didn’t have a lot of space to play.

“In the first years, I had an apartment – when we were three we had to change home. In an apartment, you can do a lot of things, you know? Just with a wall sometimes, you take the ball left and right, left and right, it’s easy – you don’t need to break something or cause a big problem with your mum!

“Just be quiet there and try easy things – normally these easy things are most important for the game, no?”