Exclusive: An insight into Bruno's lockdown life

Few players have had a more immediate impact at Old Trafford than Bruno Fernandes.

The Portuguese international has claimed our Man of the Match award in each of his five Premier League games, and was a major part of our 11-match unbeaten run prior to the suspension of football in mid-March.

We all know how good the 25-year-old is with the ball at his feet, but what's he been up to off the pitch during the lockdown?

How do you stay motivated, both mentally and physically?
“Physically it’s easier than mentally, because you just need to follow the programme and you will be okay. Mentally it is also nice because I have my family with me so you can spend a lot of time with the family. I have my baby so I have a lot of time to be with her. Normally, if I have games and training, for most of the time I’m out sleeping in hotels and everything, so I don’t have the same time to be with her. So it’s nice to have this time. Obviously, it’s a lot of time and sometimes we don’t know how we can be active with her, because she has a lot of energy – more than me! So you need to play a lot with her [and do] different things.”

What films or TV shows are you watching?
“I watch movies – in the first week, I watched a little bit more. Now, I watch series. I like the new one from Michael Jordan [The Last Dance]. I think every sport person will like to know the past of Michael Jordan and I think it must be really nice to be one of the best sports teams in the world. So I want to watch them. I watch also the story from Carlos Tevez [Apache] – he also have a new one on Netflix. I watch most of the sports [documentaries], you know? I also want to watch – it’s not a new one, it came out a few months ago – the one from Rafinha Alcantara, from Barcelona.”

If you were going to cook for someone, what would you make?
“I love pasta! Since I was a little boy, in my home, when I need to cook for me and my little sister, it was pasta every time. Because it’s what I liked most and, at that time, the only one I can do! I can do more things now. I also like to do a grill because when we have all the family together, we normally do a big grill for everyone, because I have a big family.”

Any advice for young footballers in isolation?
“I think it’s easy because I remember when I grew up, in my home with my father, my mother, my brother and my sister, we didn’t have a lot of space to play. In the first years, I had an apartment – when we were three we had to change home. In an apartment, you can do a lot of things, you know? Just with a wall sometimes, you take the ball left and right, left and right, it’s easy – you don’t need to break something or cause a big problem with your mum! Just be quiet there and try easy things – normally these easy things are most important for the game, no? [You can] learn how to play with both feet.”

Are you having group calls with team-mates?
“It’s good because you can see everyone and talk with everyone but normally I talk with Juan [Mata], Diogo [Dalot], of course, because he is Portuguese and we talk a lot. But I talk with David [De Gea] one time, with Tim [Fosu-Mensah] also, I don’t know! I don’t remember now. With Fred also I talk, with [Nemanja] Matic sometimes. I talk with Jesse [Lingard] on Instagram, because I comment on everything on his history.”

What game would you nominate for our Match Rewind series?
“The game I would like to watch would be the game where I scored my first goal, against Watford, because I want to feel – not exactly how I would feel in the game – but I can feel the game, the atmosphere and everything when I score. I can have the motivation to keep training and keep the focus on the return of the game. I think from history I have maybe one game – the Champions League final when Cristiano [Ronaldo] scores with the header. After this, he misses a penalty, I think it’s the same one right, against Chelsea? This one. I think it was a great final and for Cristiano it was one of the best games yet. Because he scored an amazing goal with a header. He doesn’t jump, he flies. After this, he missed the penalty but at the end United won the Champions League and at the end we see him crying on the ground because he won the Champions League. It was one of the most important games in the history of Manchester United.”

If you had to self-isolate with one team-mate, who would you choose?
“I would choose Juan, because if I isolate with Juan I can listen to my song all day, every day! He always sings it to me! It’s not the atmosphere of Old Trafford, but Juan is the kind of guy who puts all his heart in the song, so when he sings the music for me is really nice! Normally I arrive before him, and he comes at breakfast, gives me his hand and starts to sing the song – Bruno, Bruno, Bruno!”