Man Utd fan Bobby Moore got the surprise of a lifetime when Bruno Fernandes told him he would be the mascot against Manchester City.
A passionate seven-year-old Manchester United fan whose celebration of a Bruno Fernandes penalty went viral – and caught the attention of the club captain – shed tears after walking the teams out with his hero at Old Trafford.
Bobby Moore was United’s mascot for the derby day draw with Manchester City earlier this month, leading the players out alongside Fernandes and becoming the first club mascot to use a powerchair or wheelchair.
Bobby’s celebration of a United penalty in his signature red powerchair went viral on social media and was seen by Fernandes, who then received a letter from the Belfast youngster as part of the Premier League’s Fan Mail series. Two days before the clash with City, Bobby was invited to Carrington to take part in a powerchair football session before being surprised by Fernandes.
Bobby, dad Terence, and mum Clare were at Carrington waiting for the event when Fernandes appeared after finishing training ahead of the derby.
“He came out to see Bobby. He invited him up to the restaurant to have lunch with the players. He got to meet all the players and have a bit of lunch with them,” said Terence.
“Then Bruno took him outside to do a bit of powerchair football with the United powerchair team. He was brilliant, to be honest, you didn’t feel like he was rushing and it felt like he wanted to be there. He seemed just a genuine guy.”
It was just during his chat with Fernandes that Bobby’s weekend got even better. While his parents knew he was going to be a mascot, something Terence said Fernandes had “greased the wheels” on, the youngster only found out he would even be going to the game two days beforehand.
“A couple of players had kept asking if he was going to the match on Sunday, and Bobby would say, ‘No we’re not going’. And then Bruno is talking away and asking, ‘Will you go to the match on Sunday?’ And Bobby says, ‘No, I just came here.’
“Bruno was like, ‘Who told you that?’ He says, ‘No, you’re going and you’re going to lead the team out with me’. It was just a really emotional day and it was amazing. I just couldn’t believe it. I knew it was happening, but just seeing the reaction was amazing.”
With the Saturday to themselves, the family headed to the Trafford Centre for food and a visit to the Sea Life aquarium, but Bobby only wanted the day to pass as quickly as possible before the match on Sunday.
When he got to Old Trafford for the first time, the size of the occasion started to sink in for the United-mad youngster.
“He was in his element on matchday, so excited in the morning telling us what was happening, but he was just a bit quieter when he realised how big the stadium was and that he was going to be walking out there with the team,” said Terence.
“He had said he was going to shout ‘Bruno, Bruno’ into the camera, but then he decided he wasn’t going to do that. He kept making things up that he was going to do. I said just go out there and smile, it’s an amazing experience that you’ll never have again.
“He was a bit nervous leading up to it, but when we were down in the tunnel with the rest of the mascots, he started talking to a couple of the other mascots, and he sort of felt a bit more at ease, like they were talking away to him.
“And then when the players came out, a couple of players signed autographs when they were coming out to do their pre-match warm-up. And then Bruno, too, he put him at ease.”
Bobby was born with a rare genetic condition known as spinal muscular atrophy, which requires him to use a powerchair. As he led the teams out with Fernandes, the Sky Sports commentary team referenced the slice of history viewers were witnessing.
“They focus on Kevin De Bruyne and his last derby as the teams come out, and then it pans down to Bobby and Bruno and they gave a bit of detail about Bobby being the first powerchair user to be mascot at Old Trafford. They even named him, we weren’t expecting that,” said Terence.
“My phone just blew up. We had only told close family, then I messaged friends to watch from the start on the morning, telling them we were sat behind the net and they would be able to see us. Pretty much Bobby’s whole school was watching. It was just a proud, proud moment, for me and my partner.”
Fernandes is Terence and Bobby’s favourite player, but all of the squad helped put Bobby at ease and make his weekend special, with Terence referencing Rasmus Hojlund as one who went out of his way to chat at Carrington on the Friday.
After the game, Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Mason Mount saw Bobby in the tunnel and went over to chat to him about the game, before one final farewell with Fernandes before it was time to leave.
“He got a bit emotional on the way out of the stadium,” said Terence, “because he was saying that he’ll not get to see Bruno again.”
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