Bruno Fernandes celebrated a century of career league goals last weekend after scoring the winner during Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
Fernandes has forged a reputation as a brilliant goalscorer from midfield in recent seasons and scored the 100th league goal of his club career to strengthen United’ position in the Premier League’s top four.
Following Fernandes’ milestone moment, we’ve broken down his century of league goals scored for five different clubs.
Novara – 4
Fernandes spent much of his youth career with Boavista, but departed for Italy in search of a clearer path to first-team football. He signed for Novara in Serie B and soon broke into the senior side during the 2012/13 season.
He scored five league goals in 23 appearances for Novara as the club missed out on promotion to the top division in the play-offs. Fernandes’ performances attracted attention from Italy’s leading clubs however, and he moved on after just one season with Gli Azzurri.
Despite interest from sides including Inter Milan and Juventus, he signed for Udinese in a co-ownership deal.
Udinese – 10
Fernandes spent three seasons at Udinese and scored 10 goals in 86 league appearances for the club.
His performances helped Udinese retain their top-flight status in Italy, with his most memorable performance coming during a crucial win over Napoli during the 2015/16 season.
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Bruno Fernandes scores as Udinese beat Inter 2-1 at San Siro, six years ago today in Serie A #mufc pic.twitter.com/W052DTQMSb
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) December 7, 2020
Fernandes scored twice as Udinese recorded a 3-1 victory over Maurizio Sarri’s title-challenging side, including an audacious overhead kick. Udinese survived relegation by the narrowest margin, finishing just a point above relegated Carpi.
Sampdoria – 5
Fernandes signed for divisional rivals Sampdoria in 2016, on an initial loan deal with an obligation to purchase the midfielder on a permanent transfer.
He spent just one season with La Samp, in which he scored five league goals in 33 appearances for Marco Giampaolo’s side, operating in a midfield role behind a forward line that contained Patrik Schick, Luis Muriel and Fabio Quagliarella.
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Tanti auguri a @B_Fernandes8, stella del @ManUtd che oggi spegne 26 candeline. ???? pic.twitter.com/wrRHGxV2Us
— U.C. Sampdoria (@sampdoria) September 8, 2020
After impressing for Portugal during the U21 European Championship in 2017, he returned to his homeland in an €8.5m deal to sign for Sporting Lisbon.
Sporting Lisbon – 39
Sporting Lisbon’s investment proved an instant bargain as Fernandes’ career took off in the Primeira Liga.
He scored 16 goals and laid on a further 20 assists in all competitions to be named as the Primeira Liga’s Player of the Year during his debut campaign.
Fernandes retained that accolade the following season, following a campaign which saw him score 33 goals for the capital club – becoming the highest-scoring Portuguese midfielder in a single season ever.
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them".
Obrigado Capitão. Para sempre Leão ???? pic.twitter.com/L7JqXs6RbT
— Sporting CP (@SportingCP) January 29, 2020
The midfielder continued to fire during the opening months of the 2019/20 season and became just the third Sporting Lisbon player this century to score in six consecutive appearances for the club.
Established as one of Europe’s most productive midfielders and among the leading talents outside the top five leagues, transfer interest arrived from the Premier League in the winter.
Manchester United – 42
Manchester United agreed a deal to sign Fernandes for an initial fee of £47m as the Red Devils looked to salvage a stuttering season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side had struggled for consistent results and were facing an uphill task to secure a top four finish up Fernandes’ arrival.
His impact was immediate, arriving at a side who had lost three of their last four Premier League games before inspiring an upturn in results. United went unbeaten in 14 league games from Fernandes’ debut until the end of the season and the midfielder was crucial to the club securing Champions League football.
Man Utd: 42 ⚽
Sporting: 39 ⚽
Sampdoria: 5 ⚽
Udinese: 10 ⚽
Novara: 4 ⚽Bruno Fernandes scores his 100th league goal ???? pic.twitter.com/5JVdKxBASR
— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 30, 2023
He scored eight goals and provided a further seven assists across that period, form which saw him win the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award despite his mid-season arrival.
Fernandes continued in fine fashion during a record-breaking 2020/21 season. He scored 28 goals in all competitions – including 18 in the Premier League – to break Frank Lampard’s record for the most prolific season from a Premier League midfielder.
He won the Red Devils’ Player of the Season award for a second successive campaign and has continued to provide consistent goals and assists for the side.
He has now scored 42 league goals in just 118 appearances for Manchester United, a remarkable record for a midfielder.
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