Bruno Fernandes passed Manchester United legend Paul Scholes in the club’s record books for Premier League assists on Sunday.
The Portuguese midfielder assisted both Man Utd goals as the Red Devils defeated Crystal Palace 2–1 to return to winning ways. Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount turned the tides in the second half to snap a three-game skid after a Jean-Philippe Mateta penalty.
Fernandes registered his 55th and 56th assists in the English top flight to overtake Scholes, who registered 55 during his time with Man Utd. In doing so, the Portuguese captain moved up to fourth all-time in the club’s annals.
Opta confirmed the achievement signifying Fernandes’s immense and often talismanic impact since moving to Manchester in 2020.
Fernandes Chasing Down Three Man Utd Legends
The Portuguese has three more club legends to pass to become Man Utd’s all-time leader in Premier League assists.
Man Utd All-Time Premier League Assist Leaders
Fernandes would likely have to play the rest of his career at Old Trafford to have even the slimmest of chances of passing Ryan Giggs. The Welshman is the league’s all-time assist leader as well, so if Fernandes was to pass Giggs he’d write his name into Premier League folklore at the same time.
Fernandes could pass Beckham with two or three more seasons in the Premier League, so long as his form doesn’t dip. The Portuguese has registered at most 11 assists in a single campaign, doing so in 2020–21 and 2024–25. He’s nearly halfway to matching that mark this season with five in 13 appearances.
If he matches his career-high, that would put him 19 away from surpassing Beckham.
Overtaking Wayne Rooney would likely require a couple more seasons, or one stellar campaign in general. The record for most assists in a single Premier League campaign stands at 20, jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
Not to mention, Fernandes’s future at Old Trafford has been questioned in recent transfer windows. If the club go a different direction at some point, the opportunity to pass Beckham or Rooney could be taken away from him prematurely.
Going clear of Scholes is an achievement in itself given the Englishman’s legendary career. Though, Fernandes likely needs a heap of silverware if he’s going to go down in similar stature to Scholes.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bruno Fernandes Overtakes Man Utd Legend With Staggering Achievement.
