It seems that former Manchester City player and now rising Sky presenter Micah Richards has revealed an unwritten rule inside the dressing room at The Etihad which could hamper Portuguese star Bruno Fernandes’s chance at winning the Premier League Player Of The Year.
Bruno has lit the Premier League up since joining Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon in January and it seems he is on track to secure the Premier League POTY award well that was until Micah Richards revealed to the MailOnline something that could block that.
“There was an unwritten rule in Manchester City ’s dressing room during my career when it came to picking the PFA Player of the Year,”
“If someone from Manchester United was in the running but Liverpool or Chelsea had candidates who had performed to a similarly high level, your vote would go to Stamford Bridge or Anfield.
Although Micah does state that if he was currently in the City dressing room, he would go against that rule like he has in the past, sometimes the player is so good that you have to ignore rivalries and just vote for them.
“Of course, there were exceptions when you had to acknowledge brilliance,” he revealed.
“I remember that I did vote for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007 and Wayne Rooney in 2010 — to do anything else after such outstanding campaigns would have been ridiculous.
“Had I been in that same dressing room now, I would have found myself going against the unwritten rule again.
“There are many fine candidates this year, not least Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan, but the outstanding footballer of 2020-21 is Bruno Fernandes.
“His numbers at this stage of the campaign are frightening for a midfielder: 15 goals, 10 assists.
“Involved in a goal, either scoring or setting up, every 84 minutes. Fernandes has created 71 chances and I don’t believe United would be in the top four without him.
“The real mark of an outstanding player is what he does to others in the team and Fernandes has dragged improvement out of those around him.
“He also has a reputation now. If I’m not watching United and I hear they have scored, I have one thought: it’s Bruno.”
If Micah thinks like this, it’s also possible that other players inside the Manchester City squad could sway either way for Bruno, do you think Fernandes will be able to secure the POTY award or will it go to the likes of Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan?