Bruno Fernandes will be the talk of Manchester United fans during the Europa League final – despite supporters saying his name wrong.
The Portuguese has cemented himself as a household name through his performances, but has had no control over how he sounds.
Fernandes has his name pronounced with a hard ‘des’ sound at the endGettyClub captain Fernandes has arguably been their best player since he signed from Sporting Lisbon midway through the 2019/20 season.
He has scored 98 goals and assisted 86 others in 288 appearances, with a contribution in Bilbao etching his name into United folklore.
However, English-speaking commentators will be deliberately mispronouncing Fernandes’ name throughout the Tottenham clash.
The 30-year-old is a prime example of a Portuguese name being read as if they are Spanish.
The Man United skipper is referred to as ‘Fer-nan-des’, despite the man himself phoneticising his surname as ‘Fer-nanj’.
The exception to the rule remains Derek Rae, who prides himself on his accurate pronunciations of player names.
The 58-year-old, who is ESPN’s lead Bundesliga commentator and a speaker of five languages, is also renowned to a younger generation as the voice of EA Sports’ FC (formerly FIFA) video games series.
His pronunciation of Fernandes in particular has garnered attention, with UK fans so accustomed to the anglicised version of his name.
Rae exclusively told talkSPORT.com, ahead of the release of F1 25: “I was doing the pronunciation of his name long before he joined Manchester United.
“It was a bit of a shock to me that he was no longer Bruno ‘Fernandsh’, because that’s what he’d always been in the video game. That was what I had verified beforehand.
Bru-no Mig-el borj Fer-nanj – as Derek Rae eloquently putsEA Sports Fernan-des will be what’s heard on UK TV for the Europa League finalGetty“It is something I put a lot of time and effort into, and it comes down to this. I know that it’s an iconic game that goes around the world, and I want somebody playing the game to be able to say, ‘Oh, that commentator has got my name right’.
“We do have a checking process. A lot of the checks are done by me, so that when I get a list of players, I go through them all.
“Luckily, I speak a few languages, so that does help. For languages I don’t speak, I have some sources from different countries.
“We work as a team to try to get that right as much as possible. There still will be names that occasionally will fall through the net.
“Sometimes, when a player arrives, especially here in England, they will change the pronunciation of their name subtly, or at least the pronunciation will be changed for them.
“That can sometimes lead to difficulties, but we try to be as accurate and as authentic as we can.”
Fans have been pronouncing his name wrong for yearsGetty Rae prides himself on being authenticXFormer Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler has revealed he deliberately mispronounces Fernandes’ name because he would get ‘laughed out’ if he said it the Portuguese way.
But when asked about the players that are grateful for the correct pronunciation, Rae added to talkSPORT: “There was a player, actually, in Scotland, when I worked in Scotland a few years ago, who thanked me.
“His name had basically been said wrongly, even by members of the team he played for. I just happened to ask him, ‘What’s the pronunciation of your name?’ He told me, ‘Farid El Alagui’.
“People hadn’t been saying that name, so I said, I’m going to say it on the air tonight. I did that, and then we bumped into each other a few months later.
“He said to me, ‘My dad was visiting from France and heard you say the name. He was so happy and so proud to hear that.
“That made me feel very good, because it made me think, this is why we try to get these names right. It’s about respect.”
Former Brentford star El Alagui spent several years playing in Rae’s native ScotlandGettyEuropa League final: talkSPORT coverage
The Europa League final will take place on Wednesday, May 21.
The match is being held at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain and kick is set for 8pm UK time.
talkSPORT will have live coverage from the Basque County, with Adrian Durham serving as your presenter.
Commentary will then be provided by Jim Proudfoot and former England striker Dean Ashton.
talkSPORT.com will also be on hand for all the latest news and build-up, including a live match blog for all the updates on the night.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
EA SPORTS is launching their new F1 25 game, with the Iconic Edition releasing on May 27th and Standard Edition launching May 30th
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