“He told me he was sad”- Juan Mata sarcastically replies on Bruno Fernandes taking over his Manchester United no. 8 shirt number
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Juan Mata left Manchester United last month when his contract expired after eight and a half years with the club. Mata, who had previously worn the number 10 for Chelsea, switched to the number 8 upon his arrival in 2014. This meant Fernandes would not be unable to wear his preferred number when he arrived from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020. Instead, the 27-year-old was given the number 18.
However, Mata’s departure allowed Fernandes to claim his favourite number. During the Premier League era, players such as Paul Ince, Nick Butt, and Wayne Rooney wore the number. Fernandes will now be able to create his own history with the shirt. Mata posted a photo of himself and Fernandes embracing and chatting during a match on his Instagram story on Friday.
“He told me he was sad the day he knew we weren’t going to keep playing together… but I think he was quite happy @B_Fernandes8 #Number8”, Juan Mata had an amusing reaction after Manchester United star goalkeeper David de Gea informed him that Bruno Fernandes would be taking his number eight jersey.
The Spanish midfielder joked that upon learning of Mata’s departure from the club, Fernandes felt both happy and sad. Mata stated that Fernandes was disappointed that the two would not be playing together, but was overjoyed that he would be given the Spaniard’s jersey number.
David de Gea had earlier asked Juan Mata if he had any thoughts on Bruno Fernandes taking his number eight jersey at the club. The Spanish goalkeeper posed the question to Mata after Manchester United unveiled Fernandes’ new number eight jersey.
Manchester United travel to Thailand and Australia for their pre-season matches
Manchester United will play six preseason games in four countries over the next 20 days. The 2022 tour will kick off in Thailand on Tuesday, July 12, when they take on archrivals Liverpool. They will then travel to Australia on Friday, July 19, to face Melbourne Victory, followed by a game against Crystal Palace a few days later. The final game in Australia will be on July 23rd against Aston Villa.
Following their tour of Thailand and Australia, they will return to Europe for their final two matches before the start of the 2022/23 Premier League season on August 7.
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Sujeeth Shetty
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