De Gea, Mata And Bruno Fernandes Banter Online In Aftermath Of Fernandes’ Number Switch

It is no secret that Bruno Fernandes, Juan Mata and David de Gea have shared a special bond during their time together at Manchester United.

As they all speak multiple common languages, the trio have become close friends during their respective times at the club, and as Juan Mata has now left the club on a free transfer, his shirt number has been re-assigned to Fernandes.

Having occupied the number since his signing in 2013, Mata and the number 8 have become synonymous in the last decade, with the Spanish wizard producing some fantastic moments in the shirt – most notably a famous brace at Anfield against Liverpool that included an out-of-this-world scissor kick in a match that become dubbed ‘Juanfield’.

Bruno Fernandes has worn the number eight shirt throughout a lot of his career, most recognisably during his time at Sporting Lisbon, where he got the number tattooed onto his forearm.

The player also has the number in his twitter handle, B_Fernandes8.

With the official announcement of the number switch being released last Thursday, it is no surprise that the player jumped at the opportunity to stake his claim on a number once worn by a young Wayne Rooney.

With the announcement bringing much media attention, David de Gea decided to take to Twitter to voice his thoughts on the news, teasingly tagging Juan Mata in the post with the caption “Anything to say @juanmata8”, accompanied by a pair of eye emojis.

Juan Mata, understanding the joke, decided to play along.

The day he revealed to his friends and colleagues must have been a sad one, and in a tongue-in-cheek reply to De Gea, he proclaimed: “He told me he was sad the day he knew we weren't going to keep playing together... but I think he was quite happy,” accompanied by a laughing face emoji, Pinocchio-style long nose emoji and finally a shrug emoji.

Clearly feeling the need to fight back, Fernandes replied to Mata’s jokingly provocative tweet claiming that although he is happy to have ownership of the No.8 jersey, he is sad to see Mata go.

Cleverly, he also turned the argument round by suggesting it is Mata’s fault as he “left” the remaining duo at the club.

This conversation online goes against the notion that there is a toxic nature in the current Manchester United dressing room.

On Saturday, Manchester United released footage of Bruno Fernandes giving fans a tour of the plane the players took while traveling to Bangkok to start their pre-season tour, including a hilarious interaction between himself and Anthony Martial.

The players, including new signing Tyrell Malacia, are gearing up to take on Liverpool in the city as the first of six planned matches, with the club due to fly to Australia to take on Melbourne Victory, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, before heading back to Europe to take on two Spanish sides.

United will first face Atletico Madrid in Oslo on 30 July, before then taking on Rayo Vallecano the following day at Old Trafford.

The weekend after, Erik ten Hag will make his competitive bow at Old Trafford during the opening weekend of the Premier League season, as the club face Brighton & Hove Albion on 7 August.