Portugal manager Roberto Martinez insists Bruno Fernandes is still desperate to play football after a long and arduous season with Manchester United.
Fernandes starred on Saturday as Portugal beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 in their latest Euro 2024 qualifier, assisting Manchester City man Bernardo Silva for the opener before scoring twice himself in the second half.
The June internationals have come under criticism in recent weeks for over-working players at the end of a long campaign, and few have been pushed as hard as Fernandes.
The 28-year-old played 59 times for United, with only goalkeeper David De Gea racking up more than his 5,156 club minutes. Add to that a World Cup and other international breaks, and the midfielder has racked up an incredible 69 appearances in total.
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“When Bruno Fernandes arrived at the training camp he was the player who probably had more minutes than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues: 6,400 minutes," Martinez said after his side's victory. "You can think: should we be worried? Should we be aware? And the reality is he is a player who wants to play.
"We always ask the player about the number of games they have played, and I can tell you he is the perfect example of players who love playing games – what they don’t like as much is to train, that’s clear! But to play games is enjoyable. He plays with a smile.
“He’s very intelligent. Every pass, every touch, has got a thought behind it, and his understanding with other players creates ways of penetrating that are very difficult to defend against.
“Today we were finding it difficult to get that penetration and I think Bruno Fernandes in a higher position and having a bit more of play longer from central areas, that was the reason to move Bruno Fernandes, and being able to be the first one to apply pressure, and give us a bit more strength in that central area with Rúben Neves. Bosnia needed to come back into the game so they were looking for combinations with Pjanic centrally especially and it was an area we had to block.
“I think the intelligence of Bruno Fernandes is of the highest, highest level – the football intelligence that he has. I don’t think it is a doubt that he makes players around him better.”
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