Prahlad Rao

Man Utd fans will love what Bruno Fernandes wrote when asked about his rapid Instagram follower growth

Manchester United

Manchester United are still one of the biggest footballing institutions in the world, agreed.

However, their precipitous slide in the latter half of the last decade cannot be dismissed even by the most hard-core of supporters.

Especially troubling is United’s utter lack of quality in midfield, with only Pogba possessing semblance of actual footballing ability required to play at top level; everyone else is either too young and inexperienced or they are just lumps of coal somehow managing to hang on at the club.

This is where Bruno Fernandes comes in. The Portuguese talent, already considered an established star by many, brings in a wealth of prowess to an otherwise sluggish team. A much needed breath of fresh air, undoubtedly.

Plus, he gets a lot of perks as well: he is in the big leagues now, playing for a club famous the world over for the playing and managerial legends it has produced.

A lesser known perk, however, is actually a rather predictable one: Bruno’s skyrocketing presence on social media.

Before joining the Red Devils, Bruno had a little over half a million followers on Instagram; in the week since, he has more than doubled that figure, notching up a million followers and thanking them all in a post specially made for the occasion.

Interestingly though, he decided to respond to fellow Portuguese player Jose Fonte’s comment, who had asked, incredulously “500 thousand in one week?”.

Bruno’s answer (screenshot below) was simple and to the point: “It’s the effect of being a red devil now.”

Couldn’t agree more.