Euro 2020 has been disappointing for Bruno Fernandes so far. With his performances against Hungary and Germany on evidence, and Wednesday's Group F decider against France, the Portugal version of the midfielder is a shadow of the man who is such an influential figure at Manchester United.
Arriving at Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon nearly 18 months ago, Fernandes has been the go-to figure for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team, a tremendously driven creative force that eclipsed Paul Pogba as the side's difference-maker is.
In the Premier League last season alone, he scored 18 goals and provided 12 assists. In one and a half seasons at United, he has scored 26 goals and 19 assists in 51 Premier League games. Quite simply, he is at the center of everything, and United have become incredibly dependent on his continued ability to contribute on a play-by-play basis.
But with Portugal it is a different story. One big reason for this is Cristiano Ronaldo. Everything is built around the talismanic forward and the captain, who has already scored three goals in two matches at Euro 2020. He surpassed Michel Platini to become the top scorer in men's European Championship history, and is now just two short of the draw. Ali Dai's men's international record of 109 goals.
Fernandes will have to accept the second billing with the national team and channel his efforts to support Ronaldo, just as talented individuals Bernardo Silva, Joao Félix and Diogo Jota should do for Fernando Santos' team.
The 26-year-old is by no means the first top player who will have to test his natural instincts for Ronaldo to flourish. At Manchester United, Wayne Rooney was often deployed widely by Sir Alex Ferguson and asked to cover the defensive side of Ronaldo's game so that he could focus solely on his attacking brief. Rooney did it without complaint - at the time, anyway - and Fernandes seems to be doing the same with Portugal.
But it will be difficult for Fernandes to move from a key player to a supporting role for Portugal at club level, and his contribution so far this summer reflects that. He has recorded 153 minutes on the pitch during Portugal's 3-0 opening win against Hungary and Saturday's 4-2 loss against Germany and is barely noticeable in any game. His stats also point to a player struggling to find his way into the tournament, with Fernandes neither scoring nor assisting any of his country's seven goals. He has also been able to hit only two shots against Hungary in Budapest.
UEFA's official player ranking, the FedEx Performance Area, charts each player's appearance and scores them on their performance. After each team played two matches, Ronaldo sits second with 32,994 points, behind Manuel Locatelli of Italy, who leads with 38,134 points. Fernandes, often at the top of Premier League performance figures, is ranked 254th after scoring just 4,537 points so far. He is the 13th most influential player for Portugal alone.
For United, Fernandes takes most of the free kicks and penalties, so his importance with Portugal is reduced to Ronaldo's responsibility to pick up those crucial set pieces. When Portugal were awarded a penalty against Hungary, there was going to be only one player to take the spot kick, and it was not Fernandes. Ronaldo stepped up and scored to underline his position as the center of gravity on the team.
Fernandes is showing no signs of being angry about his role, despite being back at a lower rank with Portugal than United. He looks dismayed at being unable to affect the game, as he would usually expect, but the hand-waving histrionics that often accompany his performances for United, when a clearly wrong pass from a teammate. Let's get angry, do not exist with Portugal. Maybe he knows that only Ronaldo can overcome such resentment or maybe Fernandes is solely focused on making sure his contribution is good enough that he doesn't stir up the anger of his star teammate. Could be saved
Having been the most important player on the pitch at the club for the past four seasons with United and Sporting, Fernandes will now face the challenge of playing at a side where someone else holds No.
Fernandes has the role of Ronaldo for United, but he will never have it for Portugal while the Juventus forward continues to represent his country. But even though he may have different expectations from him with the national team, Fernandes will have to do more if Portugal is to successfully defend their title.
Saturday's defeat against Germany has put Portugal in danger of missing out on qualification when they lose to France in Budapest. Three points could prove to be enough to eventually sneak in as one of four third-placed teams, but banking on that would be a risky strategy.
A win or draw against the world champions will put the Portuguese back on track, and they need Fernandes to make an impact at Euro 2020 to help them achieve it.