Lille midfielder Angel Gomes has revealed the 'angry' texts he received from former Manchester United teammate Bruno Fernandes during the recent Under-21 European Championships.
England won the U21 Euros earlier this month, beating Spain 1-0 in the finals to lift the trophy for the first time in 39 years.
On their road to the final, the Young Lions saw off Fernandes' home country Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
Whilst Fernandes was not personally involved in the match, he was clearly upset at the end result and jokingly took out his frustrations on Gomes, who started the game for England.
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Speaking in an interview with The Athletic, Gomes revealed that Fernandes sent him a text after England got the better of Portugal.
“Bruno sent me a message,” Gomes said. “It was just a lot of angry emojis.”
“I just couldn’t stop laughing,” added the England U21 star.
The pair were United teammates for just six months in 2020 before Gomes moved to Lille in search of regular game time, but the 22-year-old has since spoken glowingly of Fernandes.
“Who he is on the pitch is someone that wants to win,” continued Gomes. “Off the pitch, he is a completely different person: one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.”
Fernandes has recently been promoted to United captain, taking over the role from Harry Maguire, who was classy in response to the decision.
"I will always be grateful to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for first giving me the responsibility and I wish whoever now takes it on every success and they will have my full support," Maguire said in a post on social media.
Fernandes has enjoyed a perfect start to life as captain, scoring the opening goal against Arsenal in a 2-0 victory in New Jersey on Saturday.
But United's academy stars were unable to get past League Two side Wrexham on Tuesday night, losing 3-1 in San Diego.
Fernandes is expected to be involved against Real Madrid on Wednesday as Erik ten Hag looks to build confidence heading into the 2023/24 campaign.
Topics: Angel Gomes, Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United, Football
Joe Adams