Bruno Fernandes has confessed Manchester United did not do enough to justify the continued support from fans across a wildly disappointing 2024–25 season.
A 2–0 win over Aston Villa on the final day of the Premier League season saw United finish in 15th place, with recent defeat in the Europa League final only contributing to the ongoing malaise around Old Trafford.
Fernandes and his United teammates did end the season on a high by disrupting Aston Villa’s push for Champions League qualification, and the club captain was disappointed not to see that side of the squad more often this season.
“This is exactly what I was telling to Cas [Casemiro] at the end of the game,” he said. “This is what frustrates me the most, that we can perform like this against one of the most consistent teams in the league.
“It’s difficult to understand that we can’t do this through the season. But obviously I understand the pressure of playing for this club is massive and today we had a lot of freedom to go to the game and just enjoy it.
“We wanted to give something back, something different, show the fans that we want this so much to be better, to be more successful and everything.”
Repaying supporters' trust was key for Fernandes, who made a point of challenging the squad before the game to give fans a positive send-off.
“It’s been very disappointing for everyone, but for the fans in the first place, and that’s what I tried to transmit in the before the game for my players I was like, ‘Just look around. Just look how special this place is, how lucky we are to be here’.
“We had the full stadium today after a disappointing season after a disappointing Wednesday, they were again here, trying to lift us up, trying to be positive and giving a lot of energy to the team.
“And for us it was just trying to give a different image in this last game of the season. Obviously you play with a little bit more freedom, you have no pressure, because the position in the league wouldn’t change much.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bruno Fernandes Offers Frustrated Assessment of Man Utd’s 2024–25 Season.
