Bruno Fernandes: The signing that escaped Real Madrid

Bruno Fernandes was once again named man of the match for Manchester United on Tuesday night, this time after the English club's 4-1 win against Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League.

The Portuguese midfielder scored two goals and opted against taking a penalty to secure his hat-trick, instead deciding to let Marcus Rashford take it. Now, United find themselves top of the group after this result.

Fernandes has filled a gap that was missing for United upon his arrival from Sporting CP last January and he has led by example, despite having been at the club for less than a year. His stats in that time speak for themselves, too, with an astonishing 21 goals and 13 assists from midfield.

The 26-year-old perhaps took too long to leave Portugal for one of Europe's major leagues, however, at 25, he has found his ideal club in Manchester United. Real Madrid are left wanting after choosing not to sign Fernandes, especially given the fact that his agent is Jorge Mendes, who Los Blancos have always maintained a good relationship with.

However, at that point, Real Madrid had plenty of options in midfield and instead were looking to invest in a striker, be it Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe. In addition, Zinedine Zidane's greatest desire in the centre of the park was Paul Pogba, who is now a teammate and close friend of Fernandes.

The ex-Sporting man joined Manchester United for a fee in the region of 55 million euros plus add-ons, an amount that Real Madrid could have afforded. However, Fernandes' urge to leave the Portuguese club, coupled with the Red Devils' desire to sign a creative midfielder meant that the deal happened.

Fernandes was one of the most prized possessions that was available in last January's transfer window, and it was Manchester United who won the race to sign the Portuguese star.