Bruno Fernandes drops hint over Ruud van Nistelrooy's future at Manchester United

Bruno Fernandes has revealed Manchester United's players wanted to give Ruud van Nistelrooy a fitting 'goodbye' due to the impact he's had during his stint as interim boss.

Van Nistelrooy took over on an interim basis when Erik ten Hag was sacked and has been able to steady the ship, securing two wins against Leicester and a victory against PAOK.

The Dutchman also secured a point against Chelsea in the Premier League and walks away from his interim tenure with the highest win rate of any manager in United history.

However, Van Nistelrooy could leave the club this month because it remains unclear whether he will be kept as part of Ruben Amorim's coaching staff. Amorim will officially begin work at United on Monday and is set to bring his own coaches to Manchester from Sporting Lisbon.

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Van Nistelrooy received a special reception at the end of United's 3-0 victory over Leicester on Sunday afternoon and Fernandes praised his impact when he spoke after the win.

“It was a long time that I wasn’t scoring and now goals are coming in the last few games," Fernandes told BBC Sport.

"Another clean sheet was important for us to bring back the fortress we had here. We have to keep doing that and we have to improve. Ruud van Nistelrooy feels the club, he loves the club.

"He wants to bring joy to the players. He brought everyone with a smile to the games, he just wanted us to enjoy it. We wanted to say goodbye as a manager for him properly because he did good things for us.

“It’s a new era, a new manager means everything changes but what hasn’t changed is that this club has to get back to where it belongs."

Adelio Candido and Carlos Fernandes followed Amorim from Braga to Sporting in 2020 and are expected to move to United, while he could also bring a few other coaches to the club.

Ineos freshened up Ten Hag's coaching staff in the summer and Van Nistelrooy returned to United as assistant manager.