Without him though, United would have been in a sorry state.
There were plenty who felt it was time for Fernandes to move on in the summer when he received a huge offer from the Saudi Pro League.
But given their poor judgement in terms of recruitment, it could easily have pitched United into even more strife than they have been in recently.
United have not won successive Premier League games under Amorim – they now have a chance to do so at Brentford next Saturday.
But they have also only won two out of three twice before the present run under the former Sporting coach.
One second-placed Premier League finish, an FA Cup and an EFL Cup is scant reward for Fernandes’ abilities and Amorim knows it.
“That guy deserves to be in the history of our club, not just for what he does but for what his team conquers,” he said.
Amorim has decided this season hat Fernandes will occupy a deeper midfield role.
In theory, it gets him onto the ball more often and allows him to dictate games. Whether that actually happens is debatable. What definitely happens is Fernandes’ weakness in tracking runs and spotting danger is exposed.
He was to blame for Emile Smith Rowe’s equaliser for Fulham at Craven Cottage last month and Phil Foden’s opener in the Manchester derby.
Being opened up to criticism may be irritating given what he offers defensively. Yet his emotions at the end gave no indication he was falling out of love with United, quite the reverse in fact.
“Obviously I’m very proud of those two massive milestones but it’s not something I was aiming for,” Fernandes told Match of the Day. “I just aimed to play the next game.”
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