Bruno Fernandes admits he wanted Declan Rice to sign for Manchester United before the England midfielder joined Arsenal from West Ham.
Rice signed for Arsenal for a club-record £105m back in 2023 and has since been an integral part of Mikel Arteta's side as the Gunners vie for their first league title since 2004. This season, especially, with Arsenal currently closing in on the league title, Rice has been one of the league's outstanding players.
But Fernandes, who has eight goals and is one behind Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne's record of 20 assists in a single Premier League season, pipped Rice to the Football Writers' Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year award.
Fernandes took 45 per cent of votes from the FWA's 900-plus membership, beating second-placed Rice by just 28 votes.
"I admire him a lot," Fernandes told JoelBeyaTV in a sit-down following his FWA win, when asked about his fellow midfielder, whom he trained alongside in Portugal during the summer of 2023 at a training camp run by Apex Football Performance.
"First of all, as a person, because I've known him from the Algarve when we were training together and everything.
"Obviously, I knew him already from West Ham and we all knew the qualities he had. And I've always said, I always thought that Rice was a player to play for Man United, and I was really sad when he chose to go to Arsenal.
"I didn't know if there was the opportunity or the chance for him to come to Manchester United, but I always thought that he would be a perfect fit for our club. Just not for the players, but as I said before, for the person he is, for the professional.
"He showed me that he is and for his personality. And I think what he's been doing this season is great."
Fernandes' FWA award sparked debate among supporters about whether he was a more worthy winner than Rice.
Asked about their respective merits, Fernandes said: "It's a different position. It's a different style of play. He doesn't need to assist as much. He doesn't need to score as much because he demands different things from him, and the way Arsenal plays is different from the way we play.
"So, we can't compare the players, but what we can say is that he's been one of the standout players from the Premier League this season.
"I'm very happy that I won it, but if Declan had won this award, it was well deserved too because, as I said, I don't think [it's for] the best player or whatever in the league.
"It's just like in a season where you have to choose between players, then obviously numbers carry a lot of weight in the decisions.
"I think I had a brilliant season, and I could add that to my game. Obviously, for Declan, it's more difficult for him to get that because he plays a little bit deeper. And still, I think he's an amazing player. And if he had got this award, I would have messaged him and said congratulations, as I did when he got into the final of the Champions League."
