Szoboszlai, Mudryk, De Bruyne & more PL stars reveal how to pronounce their name | OneFootball

One of the most infuriating aspects of football is hearing a commentator or pundit say a player’s name entirely differently to how you presumed it should be said or how you pronounce it in their respective native languages – and it happens more often than you’d think.

You most likely can’t count one hand the number of times you’ve questioned someone’s pronunciation, whether that be a commentator, pundit, or your mate at the pub. Many Premier League stars, in particular, are household names around the country, but what if we were to say that there’s a high chance you’ve been mispronouncing their name?

That’s right – we’re looking at you. Let’s take Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes as a prime example. Take a second to think about how you’d say his name and don’t kid yourself, you didn’t know it was pronounced ‘Bru-no Mig-el borj Fer-nanj’, did you?

As such, a group of 37 people - made up of both players and managers - have teamed up with the Premier League to somewhat educate the fans at home in terms of pronouncing their name in the correct way. Perhaps it’s time to sure up on your footballer's name knowledge, and who better to teach you than the players themselves?

Premier League release pronunciation video

The initiative from the Premier League is simply brilliant. A total of 35 footballers and two managers from across the topflight – from Englishmen to Dutch to a star from Burkina Faso - had the chance to correct many fans how they were saying their name.

The video showed a vast selection of players from all corners of the globe and provided a phonetic guide to aid viewers, too. The likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, included in our Premier League Team of the Season so far, Kevin De Bruyne, Alejandro Garnacho and Joao Palhinha, among a myriad of others, feature in the informative video.

There’s no restriction to the love and language of football and the Premier League, specifically, has become a global sensation – people from all around the globe are glued to the televisions every weekend to see their beloved team in action. But the representation doesn’t stop there as the Premier League currently homes players of 65 different nations.

The correct pronunciation of De Bruyne, Guimaraes, Hojlund etc

As alluded to earlier, Fernandes’ pronunciation is one that has rocked the boat, with many pronouncing it “Fer-nan-des” as if it were an English word. His Manchester City counterpart De Bruyne also got involved in a bid to have fans authentically say his name.

“Kev-in De Bruh-ner” – the first part is simply self-explanatory, though the Belgian’s second name is somewhat of a stumbling block, while Bruno Guimaraes’ name has also proved to be tough for the English-speaking tongue to get its head around. The Brazilian has been a mainstay under Eddie Howe - but how do you say his second name? It’s “Gi-ma-rays”.

Manchester United fans have been keen to get a striker through the door for some point. But now they have done with Rasmus Hojlund, though there have been some initial struggles over the pronunciation of his Danish name. While some assumed his surname would end with a “d”, the 20-year-old bagsman has suggested that it’s pronounced “Hoy-lun”.

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola and Pep Guardiola were the duo managers to take up the part, with the latter’s pronunciation relatively bog-standard: “Pep Gward-ee-ola”. It is, however, Iraola’s pronunciation that may be that tad more tricky, with his surname often being an area of contention in conversation – but alas, it’s pronounced “Iyar-ola”. No more fluffing that one up now.