Manchester United cannot be faulted for the effort they put into scouting Portuguese football.
More than any other Premier League club, they send scouts to matches in the country, trying to identify players to sign in coming windows.
The big success in recent years is, of course, Bruno Fernandes. Before signing the midfielder from Sporting, Manchester United had sent officials to nearly every game the Lisbon club played for over a year.
That resulted in a deal, and the Red Devils continue to watch the club.
Saturday’s edition of O Jogo reports ‘spies’ from Manchester United were spotted on Friday night as FC Porto and Sporting fought, sometimes literally, out a 2-2 draw.
They were joined by scouts from Sevilla, Villarreal, Celta Vigo, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Fiorentina, Atalanta, Nice, Monaco, Montpellier, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, as well as several English clubs.
Who were Manchester United watching? Sporting midfielder Palhinha would be the usual go-to answer, but he surprisingly started the match on the bench.
The game descended into chaos with a brawl between the two benches, and four players sent off.
