Bruno Fernandes' message from Cristiano Ronaldo sums up shocking state of Man Utd

Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly told they had to win the title after signing for in 2021. Four years on, United are on track for their in the Premier League - just two places above the relegation zone - without any European football next season and a squad desperately in need of revamping.

Ronaldo made his on transfer deadline day in August 2021, signing from for a fee of £12.86million. The return of the Portuguese legend, who had previously won a Ballon d'Or and three Premier League titles with the club, was greeted with great enthusiasm and hope.

The Red Devils had just ended the previous season as runners-up under and had already made exciting additions like Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane to the squad earlier that summer.

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The plan was that by adding one of the greatest goal-scorers of all time to their ranks, United would return to their glory days and secure their first league triumph since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure in 2013.

As per , Ronaldo showed his winning mentality even before setting foot at United. He is said to have spoken to his Portugal team-mate Fernandes, instructing the midfielder to tell the rest of the United squad that they needed to have faith in themselves and win the title that year.

For a multitude of reasons, the Red Devils under Ralf Rangnick finished the season in sixth place, 35 points behind champions . Ronaldo's contract would be ripped up by the end of 2022 after being frozen out by Rangnick's successor, Erik ten Hag.

The now 40-year-old then completed a stunning transfer to club Al-Nassr, setting a trend for other ageing Premier League stars. Ten Hag's decision to part ways with the veteran forward was seemingly justified as he steered United back to a respectable third-place finish in the 2022/23 campaign.

However, since then, United have repeatedly hit new lows. A combination of poor recruitment and a mishmash of managers with differing philosophies has inflicted long-term damage on the club. And despite lifting the in 2024, Ten Hag couldn't keep the sinking ship afloat and was sacked last October.

Ruben Amorim, a fresh-faced and tactically innovative manager, fresh off winning the league with Portuguese side Sporting CP, was brought in soon after. But under the once jovial Portuguese head coach, the Red Devils have again set new unwanted records.

Amorim has the distinction of having fewer points per game than any other United manager in the Premier League era, while also overseeing the most defeats, fewest victories and the lowest league tally in recent memory. The only silver lining was if he could have ended a disastrous season with some silverware and secured a spot by defeating in the final.

As it transpired, United's two biggest weaknesses - their blunt attack and error-prone goalkeeper - would result in them losing 1-0 to Spurs, who had not won a trophy in 17 years prior to Wednesday night. Any sliver of optimism vanished in Bilbao, and it was unclear how things could get any worse.

That was, until, club captain Fernandes astonishingly offered to quit the club in his post-match interview. The 30-year-old, with at least two years still left on his contract, announced he is willing to leave if United bosses wish to cash in on him.

"I have always been honest. I've always said I will be here until the club says to me that it's time to go," Fernandes began by saying. "I'm eager to do more, to be able to bring the club the great days. On the day that the club thinks that I'm too much or it's time to part ways, football is like this, you never know it. But I've always said it and I keep my word in the same way.

"If the club thinks it's time to part ways because they want to do some cashing in or whatever, it's what it is, and football sometimes is like this. It's very sad. We wanted to win more than anything in this final. It's a very sad day because we've done some very good things in this competition until today.

"But today was the day that mattered, the most important day of the competition. It was the day we could have been in the history of the Europa League, but it's not like that. And football is cruel, and it's been our turn to lose."

Reports suggest that Fernandes, who will be celebrating his 31st birthday in September, could join his former team-mate Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League. has reported that Al-Hilal are keen on signing the Portugal international, and their offer could be imminent due to the Club World Cup.

The Saudi outfit are participating in the tournament, which begins in the United States next month, and will be able to sign players from June 1.

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