Bruno Fernandes Is The Best Midfielder In the World! My Reasons Might Shock You

Listen. I know exactly what you are doing right now. You read that headline, rolled your eyes, and got ready to send this to your football group chat with a bunch of laughing emojis. 

I totally get it. You are wondering how I can defend a guy playing for Manchester United. This is a club that has basically been a reality TV show for half a decade.

But put your club bias aside for five minutes. I have not lost my mind. I have just been paying attention to actual data while everyone else was busy writing essays about why other midfielders deserve the Ballon d'Or.

Let me show you the receipts.

People love to talk about "system players" and "vibes." I prefer cold, hard production. Look at what Bruno is doing right now:

12 Assists: He has a dozen assists in the Premier League this season. He is doing this for a dysfunctional team that is already on its eighth manager since Sir Alex Ferguson. He is serving up goals for guys who regularly forget how to finish a one on one.

74 Chances Created: Do you know who is second in the league? Declan Rice with 47. That is a 27 chance gap. That is not just a lead. That is a completely different time zone. It is like comparing Burna Boy's streaming numbers to a kid who just downloaded FL Studio last week.

The Post Amorim Bump: Since Amorim left, Bruno has created 23 chances in just 5 games. That is 4.6 chances per match. He is literally holding a sinking ship together with duct tape and pure willpower.

Let us look at his overall record. Bruno has 200 goal contributions in 314 appearances for Manchester United.

Arsenal fans have been running a massive PR campaign for Declan Rice. I love Rice. He is excellent. But let us look at the actual output:

--Average Rating: Bruno (7.56) edges out Rice (7.53)

--Big Chances Created: Bruno has 18. Rice has 12.

--Key Passes: Bruno has 78. Rice has 48.

I know what you are screaming at your screen right now. "Rice plays deeper! He defends!"

Okay, let us look at the defense. Bruno actually has 38 tackles to Rice's 42. Bruno is basically doing all the defensive dirty work of a box to box midfielder while simultaneously operating as United's entire creative department. 

What about the golden boy, Pedri? We all love Barcelona DNA. But the production is not even close. Pedri has 5 big chances created this season. Bruno has 18. Pedri completes a lot of safe passes. Bruno actually creates goals.

And then there is Vitinha at PSG. He looks amazing playing in a league where PSG has a massive financial advantage over everyone else. But what happens when he and Bruno put on the Portugal jersey and play in the exact same system? In their last five games together, Bruno outplayed him every single time. In one match against Armenia, Bruno got a perfect 10 rating while Vitinha was just average.

When they share a pitch, the debate ends.

Michael Carrick played with Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Wayne Rooney. When someone asked him if Bruno is currently the best player in the Premier League, his answer was simple. 

"Yeah, quite possibly."

He is right. Nobody wants to admit it because it breaks our brains to accept that a chaotic Manchester United team houses the best midfielder on earth. 

If Bruno was putting up these exact numbers at Real Madrid or Manchester City, we would be building statues of him. We would talk about his peak the same way we talk about Kevin De Bruyne. But because he wears a red shirt in Manchester, people dismiss his stats as "padding."

He is playing under his fourth manager this season. He is the captain. He takes the set pieces. He creates the plays. He shows the kind of "I will do it myself" energy we loved watching Yaya Toure display at AFCON.

We celebrate that passion everywhere else. But with Bruno, people just complain that he whines too much. 

He might be annoying to play against. But the numbers are undeniable. He is the best midfielder in the world right now.

Comments are open on our socials. Tell me why I am wrong.