Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has just come off one of his best ever seasons in club football.
Great season
The Portuguese star was outrageously good in the second half of the season as he helped Manchester United finish third in the league.
He also had a great individual season, providing 21 assists in the Premier League, breaking the all-time record.
Nonetheless, Fernandes has just come off the back of a disappointing World Cup, where his side exited to Spain in the last 16.
The creative midfielder registered just one assist and also failed to score a goal, as he disappeared for his national side.
Controversy
The Guardian newspaper has also reported that he has been the victim of fraud alongside England and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham.
The paper reports, “in a significant development, the illegal online casinos ÂNightwin and QH88 have hijacked the Âidentity of two of the world’s most famous Âplayers, Real Madrid’s Jude ÂBellingham and ÂManchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, to Âpresent them as official partners of their brands.”
They did this by “using fake news articles, Âphotographs and AI-generated video to fool their customers into Âbelieving that the stars’ endorsement was legitimate.”
In relation to United’s captain, a Vietnamese Âsportsbook and casino website QH88 “built a website around the brand’s fictitious association with the ÂPortugal international and devoted Âconsiderable resources to proÂducing a strikingly realistic ÂAI‑generated deepfake video purportedly Âshowing the playmaker signing his apparent ambasÂsadorial contract with Ârepresentatives of QH88” at Old Trafford.
None of Bruno Fernandes’ management team, Manchester United or QH88 had anything to say on the matter after The Guardian contacted them for their views on the story.
The English newspaper also highlighted the regular infringement of copyright and images that such sites seek to get away with, as “crests of famous clubs and Âphotographs of star players are routinely used to promote brands that could not care less about image rights and trademarks, because these operators know any kind of enforcement is impossible.”
This is owing to the fact that they often operate almost entirely from offshore jurisdictions and use multiple shell Âcompanies to hide their true identity.
| Stat Category | Detail | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | Total shots | 1 |
| Key passes | Passes leading to a shot | 2 |
| Crosses | Accurate / Attempted | 2 / 5 |
| Long balls | Accurate / Attempted | 4 / 10 |
| Touches | Total touches | 67 |
| Dribbles | Completed / Attempted | 0 / 1 |
| Clearances | Defensive clearances | 2 |
| Recoveries | Ball recoveries | 5 |
| Aerial duels | Won / Total | 1 / 1 |
| Ground duels | Won / Total | 1 / 3 |
Featured image by Molly Darlington/Getty
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