Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes says that he is thrilled to be compared to club legend Eric Cantona, but the Portuguese midfielder admitted that he has plenty of work to do to truly earn the right to be held up alongside the former French forward.
Fernandes joined Manchester United in January and has begun his time with the club in spectacular fashion, instantly becoming a vital piece for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after signing from Sporting CP.
Man Utd are set to face Sevilla on Sunday in the Europa League semi-finals, giving Fernandes a chance at securing his first trophy with the club.
And the 25-year-old midfielder says he’ll need to lift plenty of silverware to justify comparisons to club legends like Cantona.
“For me it’s really good to listen, talking about those names, but really for me, Cantona was an amazing player for the club,” he said.
“I need to do much, much, much better to be compared with him. Like the coach said,[we want] to win some trophies and I will be happy this season if we win the Europa League.”
Cantona won four Premier League titles in five years with Manchester United, having also found success at Leeds, Montpellier and Marseille.
In total, the Frenchman lifted nine trophies with Man Utd, scoring 82 goals across 185 games.
Fernandes, meanwhile, has scored 11 goals in his first 21 matches, including two in four Europa League games as the Red Devils close in on the tournament finale.
His adjustment to life at Old Trafford has been virtually seamless, and Fernandes says that Man Utd’s surge since he made his move has been the result of a team-wide effort.
“I can’t say it was easy but, of course, we have good results,” he said. “I was scoring some goals, but it was easy, everyone in the team helped me a lot, gives me a lot of confidence.
“It was much easier for me, I’ve played already in Italy, I know how it is to be out of my country playing different leagues.
“The Premier League is completely different, but I have the confidence of the coach, staff, teammates and things are going really well because, when you have the confidence of everyone, you try and do your best.”
Follow our socials Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google News.
