Who are the greatest players in Manchester United’s history? The Athletic gave Andy Mitten the task of compiling his top 25 and we will be counting them down over the coming weeks, in reverse order. He explains his thought process here. Let’s begin at No 25…Bruno Fernandes is the least-decorated Manchester United player in this greatest 25 list. The Portuguese, 31, is also the only current player.Fernandes makes it at 25 for several reasons. He is the greatest player in the now 13-year (and counting) post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, club captain during a turbulent period during which, due to an evolving media landscape, he and his team-mates are scrutinised and criticised far more than those who went before them.At an ever-changing football club, the former Sporting CP midfielder has answered to six different managers in under six years. For much of United’s history, the team comprised British and Irish players. Fernandes, who speaks four languages and can also understand and converse in French, knits together a sometimes-complex dressing room currently drawn from 15 nationalities.The man for whom the fans holler “Bruno!” over and over is as adept at offering advice to team-mates as he is talking to the media and fulfilling some of the numerous commercial demands that being United captain brings. Be it attending the Munich memorials or meeting Stretford Enders, Fernandes doesn’t shirk these duties. He’s in tune with fan culture (he once described himself as a ‘mini ultra’ when he went to Boavista games near home as a boy).“I like the atmosphere of the ultras when it is expressed in the right way,” he told me during a pre-season tour early in his United career. “I like to be part of the atmosphere when they try to push the team on and motivate them.”Fernandes’ football skills warrant his inclusion: a one-man creative force good enough to get in any side in the world. Football is more organised than ever, with more information and analysis available, yet Fernandes, who set a new Premier League assist record last season, is still someone who delivers magic that rises above the statistical. He connects superbly with those around him, bringing them into play — helping and assisting as he combines to do things that defenders and defensive units cannot stop. So few can do that and it’s a major reason why he’s the most abused United player at away grounds — rivals know he can hurt them.“He’s indispensable,” explains one person who has worked closely with him at Old Trafford, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, “and that was the feeling among staff internally when he signed his last contract 18 months ago. What he does as a leader and a captain behind the scenes measures up to the quality that people see on the pitch.“Obviously people see the petulant stuff and that’s an easy thing to be frustrated with and not like. That’s just his frustration, a nuance of his character.“The reality is he connects the whole club behind the scenes like a true captain. He’s selfless, he’s caring, he connects every single corner of the dressing room, every single member of staff. He’s a true Manchester United player and captain. He’s guided us through some difficult periods and maintained a high level of professionalism when he has been under scrutiny.”Would Bruno Fernandes get into any team in the world?Andy MittenFernandes has played 327 times for United so far since his £47million ($62m) transfer from Sporting in late January 2020, when the covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown hit. That fee was subject to increases up to £68m depending on success. In August, he could become the first United player since Wayne Rooney to win the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year award. It was previously reported that such an achievement would cost United another £4.2m, though Fernandes has since signed a new contract with revised clauses. He recently became the first from the club since Rooney in 2010 to be crowned the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year.Fernandes has played 617 professional club games (scoring 191 goals) and his United appearances put him at No 53 on the all-time list, two places above Luke Shaw, who has been at the club twice as long. If Fernandes stays, and CEO Omar Berrada said recently that he absolutely wants him to, the Portuguese would need another 200 games to put him into the top 10 for appearances. More realistic is that he will go beyond Cristiano Ronaldo’s 346 games next season.His 107 goals already put him 20th in the all-time goalscoring chart, with Andy Cole directly above him on 121. His ratio of goals to games is 0.327, the same as Bobby Charlton’s and better than Marcus Rashford’s.United do not expect him to depart this summer, but nobody truly knows. Like former United legend and captain Bryan Robson, Fernandes is clearly the club’s top footballer at a time when United are a better cup side than perennial title-winners. Robson had to wait until his mid-30s until he lifted the league trophy with United. Fernandes dreams of doing the same.Jun 24, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms