Sporting Lisbon captain Bruno Fernandes was furious on Tuesday after his side’s 2-1 defeat by Braga in the semi-finals of the Taca da Liga, known as the Portuguese League Cup. The midfielder was livid after a late Braga winner saw his side crash out of the Cup competition.
After the final whistle, the Portuguese midfielder, who provided an assist for his side’s only goal of the game, angrily stormed down the tunnel and pushed a TV camera on his way to the dressing room. The 25-year-old was also involved in a heated argument with a police officer as the match descended into chaos in the final few minutes.
The midfielder was very angry to the extent that he refused to wave or acknowledge the away fans as he made his way into the dressing room. On his way down the tunnel, Fernandes then pushed a camera down as a TV cameraman tried to take a picture of him. He was also involved in a scuffle between Sporting and Braga players and their coaches which led to the sending off of Yannick Bolasie, Braga’s Eduardo Carvalho, Sporting duo Jeremy Mathieu and Eduardo Henrique.
The Portugal international has scored 15 goals and provided 13 assists in 26 appearances for Sporting this season across all competitions.
However, United are hopeful they can get a deal worth £55million completed for Fernandes by the end of the week. Talks between United and Sporting hit an impasse over the weekend after the Portuguese giants were unhappy with the structure of the deal.
The two clubs have been at loggerheads over the fee, with Sporting demanding a minimum of £55.3m and as much as £68m, while United want to spend no more than £42m for the Portugal international. Too much of United’s initial offer was based on add-ons that Sporting deemed unlikely to occur and therefore there was very little progression in negotiations over the 25-year-old midfielder.
According to The Mirror, there has been progress in talks and United are now ready to make a second bid of just below £47m, which could rise to £55m with add-ons. It is claimed Sporting were willing to wait for £60m but reports suggest the two teams have come to a compromise.
