Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes used to have posters of Stephen Ireland on his bedroom wall, according to the former Manchester City man.
Fernandes, a January arrival at Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon, now lives a few doors down from Ireland, who emerged as one of City’s brightest young talents in 2007.
During one of their neighbourly chats, Fernandes offered to have a kickabout with Ireland’s youngest son, with the Portuguese revealing to his fellow attacking midfielder he is a big fan having always snapped him up when playing Football Manager back in the day.
“He told me that, as a kid, he had a poster of me,” Ireland told The Athletic. “He said that when he played Football Manager he always signed me.
“I was like, ‘You had me on a poster? And, seriously, you sign me for Football Manager?’ I mean, how weird is that?”
Ireland had five seasons with City before spells at Aston VIlla, Newcastle and Stoke. In 2018, he joined Bolton but left the club three months later without having played a single game for the club.
