PAUL TO PLAY FOR
Bruno Fernandes chooses Paul Scholes’ No18 shirt by Man Utd in leaked image… and manages to avoid cursed No7 jersey
BRUNO FERNANDES chose hero Paul Scholes' famous No18 shirt at Manchester United - and avoided the 'cursed' No7.
Alexis Sanchez, Memphis Depay and Angel Di Maria have all massively flopped for the Red Devils with the No7 jersey in recent years.
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So it is no surprise Fernandes has opted for the No18 instead, held previously by Scholes and then Ashley Young, especially because it has personal significance too.
Asked about the jersey in his , he said: "There are a lot of reasons for the No18. It’s a number I like.
"The last three years I have played as No8 because it’s the number my father had as a player and my birthday and it’s the number I like.
"No18 is also the birthday of my wife and another reason is, when I grew up, I saw Paul Scholes playing in it and for me having this shirt and this number of an amazing player is something I will enjoy. I know I have a lot of responsibility."
Scholes made the shirt number his own from 1996 and then for the next 15 years at Old Trafford.
And Manchester United confirmed in a tweet on Friday morning that Fernandes has opted for the same number as the legendary midfielder after signing his five-and-a-half-year deal.
After a lengthy transfer saga stretched out throughout January, the Portuguese star, 25, finally completed his £55million move on Thursday.
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Former club captain Young inherited Scholes' No18 shirt in June 2011 when the latter retired for the first time.
He wore that number for eight-and-a-half years, with Scholes taking No22 when he returned to the club in 2012/13.
But after Young left the Red Devils to join Inter Milan this month, Fernandes has taken on the number.
He wore No8 during his time at Sporting Lisbon but that is currently occupied by Juan Mata.
And he tactically avoided the unwanted No7.
The classic number was donned by Old Trafford legends George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.
But since Fernandes' hero Ronaldo left for Real Madrid in 2009, the No7 has been the centre of a number of flops.
Michael Owen struggled in the jersey, Antonio Valencia did likewise - but they were relative success in comparison to what followed next.
Di Maria endured a nightmare for a season after his £59.1m transfer, scoring four goals in 32 appearances.
Depay also failed to live up to the reputation of the number with seven goals in 45 appearances - he was left out of the matchday squad for the FA Cup final in 2016.
And arguably the biggest flop of all has been Sanchez.
The former Arsenal man still holds the No7 at Old Trafford but is spending this season out on loan at Inter Milan.
Despite his £505,000-per-week wages, he has managed just five goals in his 45 United appearances.
Fernandes, though, made the wise choice of avoiding the No7 for the rest of this season - with Sanchez expected to come back to the club in the summer.
Upon signing for his new club from Sporting, Fernandes said: "My love of Manchester United really started when I used to watch Cristiano Ronaldo play and ever since then I have been a big fan of this great club.
"For me to now play for Manchester United feels incredible, I have worked hard to get to this moment and I can promise the fans that I will give everything for the badge to help bring us more success and trophies.
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"I want to thank Sporting for everything they have done for me.
"It is surreal to hear the nice words that have been said about me from players that used to play for this team.
"A massive thank you to Ole and everyone at Manchester United for the trust they have shown in me and I can’t wait to start to repay that on the pitch."
New signing Bruno Fernandes shows off some of his football skills at the Man Utd training ground
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