Man United record-breaker Bruno Fernandes reveals surprise mentor behind his penalty technique

Bruno Fernandes has revealed which player influenced the penalty technique that has helped make him Manchester United‘s all-time top spot-kick taker.

The Portuguese midfielder has etched his name into United’s history books by successfully converting 36 of his first 40 penalty kicks for the club.

No other player has yet scored as many as 30 penalties for United, with Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney second and third on the list with 28 and 27 respectively.

Fernandes has a remarkable coolness from the spot. Many assume that is due in part to the influence of Cristiano Ronaldo – scorer of 173 penalties from 204 efforts in his senior career and with whom Fernandes has been a team-mate at both club and international level during his career.

But, perhaps surprisingly, Fernandes recently credited former Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella with helping refine the way he reads goalkeepers.

Speaking to Inside United, Fernandes explained: ‘Many of the penalty-takers, they have a side and they go there. They choose the side before, they go powerful and everything, and they still score. I don’t know, this was always something that I learned from Quagliarella, at the time I was in Sampdoria.’

Fernandes scored his 35th and 36th penalty goals for United in a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad

Fabio Quagliarella pictured (second right) scoring a penalty for Sampdoria against Juventus in December 2018 as Cristiano Ronaldo (left) watches on with his hands on his hips

Fernandes played alongside Italian forward Quagliarella during a season-long spell at Sampdoria in 2016-17.

While the two differed in technique – with Quagliarella often opting for thunderous strikes – it was the mental side of his team-mate’s approach that struck Fernandes.

The United captain added: ‘He was always checking with the goalkeepers, what he should do, the way he kicked and everything because, obviously, he had a quick run-up and a very powerful shot. But he was always trying to understand the movements of the goalkeeper and everything and I got that from him.’ 

Quagliarella, now 41, enjoyed a storied Serie A career with clubs including Juventus, Napoli, and Udinese, but it was during his twilight years at Sampdoria that his influence quietly rubbed off on a young Fernandes.

He retired from playing in 2023 after scoring more than 200 goals in Italian football, as well as eight in 28 appearances for the national team.