Man Utd: Bruno Fernandes says Man City star is toughest Premier League player he’s faced

Bruno Fernandes has revealed Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is the toughest player he has faced in the Premier League.

The Portuguese international made the claim during a Q&A session on his Twitter account after signing a new deal with Manchester United until 2026.

Fernandes’ contract renewal has been seen as ‘good news’ by interim Red Devils boss Ralf Rangnick.

"I think that’s very good news for the club, for the fans, the supporters [and] also for Bruno to know he will be here for the next five years,” Rangnick said in his pre-match press conference.

"There is no doubt he is a very important player for this club and this team. That’s great news, I already congratulated him yesterday after his return from the World Cup Qualifiers. He played very well, scored the most important goals to qualify."

The midfield maestro has been one of the Red Devils’ standout performers since his arrival from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020, scoring 49 goals and assisting his teammates on 39 occasions in 117 appearances.

His answer might not come as a surprise to many, with De Bruyne one of the league’s top-performers since he joined City from Wolfsburg in 2015.

The Belgian is a three-time Sky Blues’ Player of the Year and has helped the club lift 10 trophies in recent seasons.

However, De Bruyne wasn’t Fernandes’ top choice for toughest opponent overall, with the latter claiming Andres Iniesta and Andrea Pirlo were the hardest ‘to mark’ during his career so far.

The United no.18 tweeted: “The toughest to mark was Andres Iniesta or Pirlo.”

Fernandes also revealed which Red Devils academy star he is looking forward to playing alongside in the future.

When asked the question, the Portuguese international said fellow midfielder James Garner, who is currently out on loan at Nottingham Forest in the Championship.