Martin Tyler explains why he deliberately mispronounces one Man Utd's player name while commentating

Martin Tyler explained why he deliberately mispronounced a Manchester United player’s name while commentating.

Tyler is among the most celebrated commentators in Premier League history, having been the voice of Sky Sports' coverage for more than two decades of his 50-year career.

Despite his wealth of experience, however, the 78-year-old admitted that there is one name he would purposefully mispronounce in fear of being” laughed out of the commentary box” - that of Portugal and Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes.

Speaking on the Joy of Football podcast, Tyler said: “The Manchester United No.8 is Bruno ‘Fer-nanj’, and if I said that I’d be laughed out of the commentary box wouldn’t I? But that’s what it is.

“It’s very good of the Premier League. They get the players, who must get fed up with doing it every year. They say their name to the cameras so that the world broadcasters can get it.

“And Bruno comes up and goes ‘Bruno Fernanj’, and we all call him Bruno Fernandes. Bruno apologies.”

Elsewhere, Tyler said he believed that United should consider Everton manager Sean Dyche as an alternative to the under-pressure Erik ten Hag.

He said: “I've said Sean Dyche should be considered by Manchester United. Gareth Southgate is being considered by Manchester United, we believe.

Fernandes' name is often mispronounced by commentators (Getty)

“And Sean maybe as well, because it is a fresh point of view and they need some freshness, they need a different point of view, a different sense of purpose. And maybe if you were sitting around a table with all those new influences at Manchester United, you could make the point and make the case that actually what you do need is something a bit closer to home.

“It was tough for David Moyes because it's straight on the back of Fergie. It's a terribly difficult job to follow. And since then, obviously, people have come and gone without... have Manchester United lost that DNA that they had?

“I would suggest probably they have, so maybe somebody who's grown up in the country where Manchester United have had all those years of success and looked upon with reverence by so many people, that maybe that's the way forward. But you have people that are way above my pay grade.”

Topics: Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes, Premier League, Martin Tyler, Sean Dyche, Erik Ten Hag, Portugal

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.