To think, Bruno Fernandes could have been a West Ham player at one point. Instead, the Portuguese prince arrives at the London Stadium tonight looking to captain Manchester United to a fifth successive Premier League victory.
In what was a traumatic moment for Portuguese football, Sporting Lisbon suffered an unprecedented exodus of top-level talent back in 2018. The inevitable result of a horrific attack by approximately 50 masked ‘ultras’ at their very own training ground.
In the immediate aftermath, a babyfaced Bruno Fernandes was one of a handful of players to see his contract terminated by ‘just cause’, alongside the likes of William Carvalho, Gelson Martins, Bas Dost and former Wolves duo Rui Patricio and Daniel Podence.
How West Ham could line-up vs Man United TONIGHT! ⚽
Describe this XI in one word…
West Ham v Man United predicted XI
But as West Ham United would soon find out, loyalty is something Bruno Fernandes prides himself upon.
Why else would one of, if not the finest playmaker in world football stay committed to a Manchester United side who stumbled to a 15th place finish last season, while losing the Europa League final to – heaven forbid – Tottenham Hotspur?
Red Devils interim boss and Upton Park academy graduate Michael Carrick talked up the threat of West Ham ahead of Tuesday’s 8.15pm kick-off at the London Stadium. Carrick, though, returns to his old stomping ground flanked by perhaps the only player in the Premier League in better form than Crysencio Summerville.
There is, though, an alternative universe out there somewhere in which is Fernandes leading West Ham out against his beloved Man United, wearing claret and blue rather than red.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
The story of how West Ham tried to sign Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes looks dejected during Manchester United's draw with West Ham
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Sky Sports reported in June 2018 that, with Sporting still reeling from an attack which saw nine imprisoned and Bas Dost nursing a nasty head wound, West Ham tested the waters with a £20 million bid for the up-and-coming Fernandes.
Sporting, Sky add, may have accepted had the offer landed in the region of £25 million.
Now, any fears that Fernandes would leave for free – like Patricio and Martins – would soon be allayed. He and the club reached a compromise, one which would have allowed Fernandes to leave for below his market value but which would also have secured Sporting a respectable windfall.
Hence, West Ham’s ambitious approach.
Just three weeks later, however, Fernandes would furthermore demonstrate the loyalty which saw arguably the finest attacking midfielder of his generation spend his peak years at a perennially-underachieving Manchester United.
Did you know we once bid £20m for Bruno Fernandes? 💸 🇵🇹
Which former target do you WISH we'd signed?
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 2-0 during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on February 7, 2026 in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Fernandes turned down big-money offers to stay at Sporting Lisbon
Fernandes opted to re-join Sporting, signing a new five-year contract in the process.
“It doesn’t matter who is to blame [for the attack]. Now, it is over. Sporting is opening a new page and I believe it will be very good,” Fernandes said at the time, explaining his decision to stay while so many of his former teammates understandably headed for the exit.
“If it were [about] the financial side, I would not be here.”
Fernandes would record a staggering 32 goals and 18 assists in the season following West Ham’s failed bid.
When making the switch to Old Trafford a further six months later, to the tune of £47 million, Fernandes had moved out of the Hammers’ reach.
Opportunities to snap up a bona fide Premier League great for a cut-price fee do not come around often. While his adoring Old Trafford fanatics will forever appreciate Bruno Fernandes’ enduring fidelity, West Ham go into tonight’s clash hoping their one-that-got-away does not maintain the Red Devils’ resurgence at their expense.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox