• Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • Lionel Messi
    • Cristiano Ronaldo
    • EA FC 25
    • Wrexham
  • Boxing
    • Tyson Fury
    • Anthony Joshua
    • Oleksandr Usyk
    • Mike Tyson
    • Jake Paul
    • Logan Paul
  • UFC
    • Dana White
    • Conor McGregor
    • Khabib Nurmagomedov
    • Jon Jones
    • Paddy Pimblett
    • Joe Rogan
  • Other Sport
    • Athletics
    • Formula 1
    • MMA
    • Motorsport
    • NBA
    • Darts
    • NFL
    • Snooker
    • Wrestling
    • Tennis
    • Cricket
    • Golf
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Xavi referred to Bruno Fernandes as 'The Portuguese guy,' fans think it's going to motivate the Manchester United star

Home> Football

Updated 16:18 22 Feb 2023 GMTPublished 14:52 22 Feb 2023 GMT

Xavi referred to Bruno Fernandes as 'The Portuguese guy,' fans think it's going to motivate the Manchester United star

Xavi was talking up the job that Erik ten Hag has done at United, but he still managed to offend one of the club's biggest stars.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

Barcelona manager Xavi has risked poking the bear, after he managed to forget Bruno Fernandes' name and call him the 'Portuguese guy' ahead of their game with Manchester United.

United and Barcelona played out an extremely entertaining and dramatic 2-2 draw in the play-off round of the Europa League at the Camp Nou last week.

The visitors 'toyed' with their opponents at times, impressing against a team who have only conceded seven times in La Liga so far this season.

Advert

It set up the return leg perfectly, with both sides knowing whoever goes through will be considered the favourite for the rest of the competition.

The Premier League giants certainly did enough to impress Barca's manager last week, with the former midfielder claiming they are in an 'exciting' title race alongside Arsenal and Manchester City.

However, whilst the Spanish boss has been suitably dazzled by some of his upcoming opponents, he managed to somehow forget Fernandes' name.

Advert

Ahead of the game, the 43-year-old was asked about Ten Hag turning United's fortunes around, saying, "He is very good, I like him a lot.

"He has built a team and is getting the best out of all his players. That speaks well of him. Tactically he is very good and he handles the dressing room very well.

"He is getting all the talent out of his players. You see [Jadon] Sancho, [Marcus] Rashford, the Portuguese guy [Bruno Fernandes]. And look how Fred is playing . . ."

Fernandes has been in excellent form. Image: Alamy
Fernandes has been in excellent form. Image: Alamy

Advert

Whilst it wasn't meant as a dig of any sort, fans think that it might be enough to inspire the Portuguese guy into a brilliant performance, or a red card.

"'The Portuguese guy,' Xavi has just given Bruno Fernandes all the motivation he needs," one fan said.

"It’ll be lovely to see the Portuguese guy kick Xavi and his kids out of Europe tomorrow night," another responded.

A third had Catalan backsides on his mind, adding, "Xavi: 'That Portuguese guy.' Time to cook those bums in the Theatre of Dreams."

Advert

"You just know that Bruno is about to drop a masterclass on Xavi's head now," replied a fourth, going much further north of the bum region.

A fifth foresees the inspiration coming out in one of two ways, posting, "My favourite thing about that great Xavi interview is just how offended Bruno Fernandes is going to be at being called 'the Portuguese guy.'

"Worldie display or a red card for Bruno tomorrow. His rage will allow nothing else."

And one fan even thought it was on purpose, saying, "Xavi called Bruno the Portuguese guy for reason, to rile him and the fanbase up. He did that on purpose and it's up to Bruno to channel this whichever way he wants. He doesn’t need to prove who he is to Xavi."

Advert

Xavi and Ten Hag embrace after the first game. Image: Alamy
Xavi and Ten Hag embrace after the first game. Image: Alamy

From his perspective, the former Barcelona midfielder was very complimentary about United and playing at Old Trafford, adding, "Old Trafford motivates — it is one of those stadiums where you want to play at least once in your life, where you have to get the best out of yourself.

"We have to be brave, go all out for the game without complexes. It’s like at the Bernabéu, you have to be brave. And to be a great team you have to win at those grounds. And we want to be a great team. That’s how I see it."

Fernandes may well be one of the players they have to fear in the second leg, considering his brilliant form both with and without the ball.

Last weekend he once again set up Marcus Rashford, against Leicester City, with a brilliant pass but most of the praise for him was due to his leadership skills.

Featured Image Credit: PA Images

Topics: Football, Premier League, La Liga, Barcelona, Manchester United, Xavi, Bruno Fernandes

Ryan Sidle
Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

X

@Sidler28

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

24 mins ago
an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • 24 mins ago

    Real Madrid dressing room's immediate verdict on Trent Alexander-Arnold as team-mates left 'speechless' at one thing

    Alexander-Arnold is preparing to make his first competitive appearance for Real Madrid at the Club World Cup.

    Football
  • an hour ago

    Borussia Dortmund boss slammed for 'delusional' remark over Florian Wirtz's move to Liverpool as fans left stunned

    Wirtz is closing in on a move to Liverpool that could be worth a British-record fee of £116 million, including potential add-ons.

    Football
  • 2 hours ago

    Footage of Rayan Cherki's first Man City training session emerges and it's got fans talking

    Cherki will feature for Pep Guardiola's side at this summer's Club World Cup.

    Football
  • 2 hours ago

    Steph Houghton reveals exactly what she thinks about Leonardo Bonucci in new post after crunching Soccer Aid tackle

    The former Lioness captain has spoken out after the controversial incident during Soccer Aid.

    Football
  • Portuguese media make verdict on Bruno Fernandes' decision to turn down Al Hilal transfer and stay at Man Utd
  • What Bruno Fernandes rejecting Al Hilal means for Man Utd's available transfer funds and their pursuit of Bryan Mbeumo
  • Bruno Fernandes makes stunning decision on Al Hilal offer as Fabrizio Romano drops major update
  • Bruno Fernandes' Al Hilal decision creates a dream Man Utd problem