Bruno Fernandes Reveals Adorable Daughter-Inspired Story Behind His Goal Celebration

Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes has revealed that his well-known goal celebration was actually inspired by his three-year-old daughter's cheekiness at home.

The 26-year-old playmaker has been a revelation since joining United in a £67m deal back in January and was even awarded the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award, after scoring 12 times in 20 outings.

With those 12 strikes - and one more already in 2020/21 - United fans have begun to get used to seeing Fernandes' trademark celebration.

Bruno Fernandes' trademark move is all for his young daughter / James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images

Writing about his life and career so far for The Players' Tribune, Fernandes explained the meaning behind covering his ears - which all stems from the joys of parenting - and why he can't get away with not doing the move.

"I like to come home after a match and hear, 'I love you, but you really should’ve scored today. Good passing, yes. But many missed chances,'" Fernandes wrote, while discussing his relationship with criticism.

"Sometimes I even hear it [criticism] from my daughter Matilde. And she’s only three!"

"But her criticism is a bit different. You see, when she was very little, she started messing with me and my wife. We would ask her to put away her toys or something, and she would put her hands over her ears pretending she was not listening. 'Blah, blah, blah, I can’t hear you, daddy.'

"I found it really funny, so that’s why I started celebrating my goals by putting my hands over my ears.

"Matilde would watch me on TV and she started to understand that it had a meaning — that it was all for her. So now if I forget to do it, or even if the TV cameras don't catch me doing it, it’s a problem. As soon as I come home she asks me, 'Why didn’t you do it, daddy???'

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Dia 6 de setembro de 2020, quando muitos pensavam que ao término do jogo da seleção Bruno Fernandes não tinha feito golo enganam-se! Faz hoje 38 semanas e 6 dias que dei um dos pontapés para golo mais importantes da minha vida, como eu gosto e com uma distância de quase 9 meses ansioso por ver a bola a balançar a rede ?? Quando terminou o jogo muitos de vocês já diziam que não tinha feito golo mas enganavam-se porque apesar do apito final um dos dois melhores pontapés que dei na carreira estava prestes a entrar, mas não sem antes o delegado chamar-me para o antidoping logo após o jogo ? passados esses momentos e algumas horas eis que a bola entra ou neste caso concreto sai ? Gonçalo de Pinho Fernandes decide que é hora do seu pai fazer o segundo golo mais importante na sua vida! E assim às 00:39 de dia 6 de setembro a minha mulher @anaapinho_ mais uma vez fez a nossa vida ganhar ainda mais vida ???❤️

A post shared by Bruno Fernandes (@brunofernandes.10) on Sep 5, 2020 at 6:46pm PDT

"Hahaha, this is my life, you see?"

Earlier this month, the Portugal international announced the birth of his second child. Time will tell if he is forced to come up with a brand new celebration.

Read the full piece by Bruno Fernandes on The Players' Tribune