Bruno Fernandes has taken the Premier League by storm with Manchester United.

It's staggering to think that the Portuguese magician has only been plying his trade in England's top-flight for 15 months because he plays as though he's been doing it his entire career.

Besides, despite still waiting to complete his first full season in the Premier League, Fernandes has achieved more than some players do across years and decades of turning out in the division.

Fernandes' impact at Man Utd

His record of 24 goals from 44 games is nothing short of staggering for a midfielder and he's been crowned the Premier League Player of the Month twice in a row on two separate occasions.

But despite those monumental achievements, there are still skeptics who think that Fernandes is overrated, launching arguments that he's a 'penalty merchant' or 'stat-padder' across social media.

It seems crazy, I know, but there are simply too many examples of fans peddling this narrative to ignore and the latest jibe at Fernandes has surrounded his comments on Andres Iniesta.

p1f2rfe5bgkndfuk15bntov1jqvp.jpg

Fernandes tips his hat to Iniesta

During a Twitter Q&A earlier this month, Fernandes was asked whether there was a particular player that he based his game upon and proceeded to reply by citing the legendary Barcelona star.

The United midfielder tweeted: "@andresiniesta8 as player and as a person. Such a legend!"

Pretty hard to argue with that, Bruno, but not everybody took his comments lightly with a ten-minute - yes, that's right, ten minutes - compilation emerging in the aftermath of the tweet.

p1f2rf9h73nbr9kg8iu1tqn3vjj.jpg

Fernandes mocked by montage

That's because Twitter user @CF_Comps took aim at United's main man with a montage mocking Fernandes' claims that he bases his game on Iniesta by, well, suggesting that he's failing to do so.

And to say it's attracted attention would be quite the understatement with over 600 retweets and 1,100 'likes' gracing the Fernandes montage at the time of writing. You can check it out here:

Hmmm... yeh... this feels pretty harsh, doesn't it?

Cruel on Fernandes

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure the video has been made in good humour and I doubt that anybody seriously thought that Fernandes is literally hoping to perform exactly like Iniesta.

Besides, we're talking about one of the greatest midfielders to ever grace the sport here, the chances are that anybody you compare them to aren't going to come off favourably.

p1f2rfard3a9b1eg344k5t31f2pl.jpg

But you can't fault Fernandes for trying and frankly, he's doing a better job than most, even if we doubt that he'll ever reach the dizzying heights of Iniesta. Not that you could call that a criticism.

In 2020, Fernandes explained his love for Iniesta forever, remarking: “The one I liked to watch and follow was Iniesta, because Iniesta is a mix between an eight and a 10.

"It is a way I can do better, between eight and 10. Iniesta always likes to have the ball and take risks. I think Iniesta was one of the best in the world.

p1f2rfbs3k19nr19s5o6t16al11jun.jpg

"For me, it was impressive how Iniesta finished his career without the Ballon d'Or [award]. With everything he won, it is difficult for me to understand!” We're with you on that, Bruno.