“I know you’re talking about Roy Keane.”
Roy Keane made headlines last month after arguably his most anger-filled rant ever about Man United.
It came in the midst of a poor run of form for the Red Devils and soon after they had come back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Everton.
Despite Bruno Fernandes being one of the bright sparks in a struggling Man United side, Keane still singled out the captain.
He said:
They draw at Everton, it’s like they won the cup. It’s f*cking bizarre.
I see fans at matches and they’re singing for Bruno and I see these boys and I’m thinking ‘you’re f*cking imposters’.
I watched them at Everton on Saturday. People pretend to be closing people down.
Save us, they’re 15th in the league, and he’s saving them? Praise the lord. Bruno is a talented player but talent is not enough. What’s he saving? 2-2 at Everton.
However, United’s form has picked up of late and they are unbeaten in the league since that Everton game, are through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, and put Leicester to the sword with a 3-0 win on Sunday.
After the game, Fernandes spoke about the criticism from Keane, and issued a level-headed response.
He said: “It’s not nice to hear those things about you, I think no one likes that. But at the same time, it motivates and makes you think people think there’s a lot of things you have to improve.
“You have to take it in a positive way, and think whatever people are saying, if there’s a margin for improvement or not. I know you’re talking about Roy Keane.
“I have huge respect for Roy Keane. I think he was one of the best captains the club had. An amazing player for the club, won basically everything for this club.
“It’s the way he thinks about me as a player, as a captain. I have to respect that. I try to do the things in my own way to be not the best captain but person and team-mate as I can. I do it every day. I try to be an example in everything I do in the training sessions, on the pitch.
“But obviously, not everyone will like, not everyone will think in the same way, and I respect every opinion of everyone. I have to accept there is a lot of margin for improvement in my game and my leadership.”
