Xavi referred to Fernandes as ‘The Portuguese guy,’ fans think it’s going to motivate the Man Utd star
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.
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.
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 . . .”
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.”
“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.”
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.
