Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea playfully sent a message to former United and international teammate Juan Mata after Bruno Fernandes received his old number 8 jersey. The announcement came with a video of the number along with Fernandes with a caption of 'it was meant to be'.
The Portuguese international has long been after the jersey - the one he has worn with Udinese, Sporting and the national side whilst even having the number tattooed on his arm.
The jersey number became available after Mata left the club as a free agent this summer, with Fernandes previously expressing his desire to inherit the shirt.
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De Gea responded to the video on Twitter, jokingly asking: 'Anything to say, Juan Mata?'.
Fernandes has already spoken about why he would want to wear the number 8, whilst also praising his then squad number, 18. He told the club website in 2020: "There are a lot of reasons for the no.18. It's a number I like. Number 18 is 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.
"The last three years I have played as No.8 because it’s the number my father had as a player and my birthday and it’s the number I like."
Elsewhere, number 7 would become available should Cristiano Ronaldo leave the club. It has been confirmed that he will not travel with the squad to Thailand today.
Jadon Sancho could be the man to take the prestigious number if Ronaldo leaves.
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