Why did Bruno Fernandes change his Man United shirt number?

The Red Devils midfielder will play with the number 8 shirt from the next season.

Bruno Fernandes has reflected on his decision to wear Manchester United’s number eight shirt.

Since arriving at United in January 2020, Fernandes has played with the number 18 shirt. However, he has decided to take on Juan Mata‘s number eight jersey after the latter left the club earlier this summer.

The 27-year-old reveals he has opted to switch his shirt number in tribute to his father.

“That shirt means a lot [to me],” he told MUTV. “There is a history behind that [number] because my father, when he used to be a player, he was playing with a number eight.

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“He quit from football because he had an offer from work, and obviously at that time for me and my brothers and for all the family it was better that he had proper work than [to] keep playing football.

“[The number eight] is the number he was using for two years. Because it was also his dream [to be a footballer], it makes my dream a little bit of him.”

Asked about his ‘BF8’ tattoo, Fernandes added: “The B is the last name of my mum, Borges, and the F is the last name of my father, Fernandes.

“The eight is the day of my birthday! So this number eight says a lot about me, says a lot about my family, says a lot about my past and that’s why I like to use [it]. And that’s why it’s my preferred number.”