No other player can claim to have made a greater impact in the competition since it was rebranded as the Europa League in 2009 (formerly known as the UEFA Cup).
Only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (34) and Radamel Falcao (30) have scored more goals in the Europa League than Fernandes (27), but the Portuguese midfielder leads the all-time rankings since 2009 for assists (19) and total goal involvements (46).
Dries Mertens — who has played 16 more Europa League games than the Man Utd captain — is the only player to have created more chances in the competition than Fernandes, both overall (185 vs 158) and from open play (129 vs 110).
Fernandes is also a high-impact player in the big matches of the tournament, as shown by his outstanding record in the knockout stages.
He has been involved in 32 goals in 33 appearances in the knockout phase — more than any other player — with 19 goals (second-most) and 13 assists (the most).
He also leads the competition in total chances created in the Europa League knockout stages (94).
However, he captained the team in the 2021 final against Villarreal but had little influence, failing to create a single chance for his teammates during 120 minutes before scoring his penalty in the shootout. That match ended in defeat for the Red Devils, so Fernandes now has a big opportunity to set things right in tonight’s final.
