Roy Keane has been a vocal critic of captain Bruno Fernandes ever since his arrival at Manchester United, with the pair clashing on a number of occasions in recent years
Roy Keane and Ian Wright engaged in a fiery debate over Manchester United’s leadership earlier this week, with the Red Devils icon questioning Bruno Fernandes’ role as captain.
During an episode of The Overlap, Keane said: “They draw at Everton, and it’s like they’ve won the cup. Bizarre. I see fans at matches. They’re singing for Bruno, these boys – I’m thinking, f***ing imposters.”
In defence of Fernandes, Wright was promptly interrupted by Keane who argued: “I’m watching him – sit and watch a game. Sit and watch a game with him [in]. We watched him in the FA Cup, and I watched him at Everton. People pretend to be closing people down.” Keane didn’t stop there, adding: “We’re 15th in the league, and he’s saving them? (Prior to United’s 3-2 win over Ipswich, which saw them climb to 14th) Praise the lord,” before further criticising: “Talent is not enough.”
Keane emphasised: “Bruno is a talented player, but talent is not enough. It’s not enough, Wrighty. Bruno is not a fighter. You want someone going, ‘lads, are you with me? Are you with me?'”
This isn’t the first time Keane has scrutinised Fernandes since his transfer from Sporting CP in January 2020. We examine Keane’s past comments on Fernandes, ranging from demands to strip him of the captaincy to dubbing him a “baby”…
Casemiro row
After United’s heavy 3-0 defeat at home to Liverpool earlier this season, Fernandes stepped up to defend team-mate Casemiro from the criticism levelled by pundits Keane and Gary Neville. During the match, two mistakes by Casemiro contributed to United falling behind before he was substituted at half-time for Toby Collyer, reports the Mirror.
Post-match, Keane and Neville pinpointed Casemiro for his performance, but Fernandes urged pundits not to target individuals, stating: “The goals are always self-inflicted.
“You need to commit a mistake to give them the goal. We don’t need to be pointing fingers at everyone, that won’t help us now. When you concede a goal you can’t just point at one mistake. What’s the point in saying Casemiro lost the ball or Kobbie [Mainoo] lost the ball? They lost the ball because they wanted to be brave. It’s part of football. Don’t make it individual.
“Casemiro is more experienced than me. I don’t need to tell him anything, he knows what football is about. He’s played for the two best clubs in the world.”
Then-United coach Erik ten Hag echoed this support, reminding everyone of Casemiro’s understanding of the game: “You know the game, he knows the game.
“He will go on, we will go on. He’s a great player. We will continue this season to improve the team and the players. He improved, and showed so often, that he is a great character. We all have seen great moments from him, being decisive in the midfield. He will show it again, I am sure he will bounce back.”
Captaincy stripping calls
Calls for a captaincy change surfaced after Keane criticised Fernandes’ leadership in the aftermath of the 3-0 loss to rivals Manchester City in October 2023. The former United enforcer was adamant, saying: “Today having watched him again I would take the captaincy off him 100 per cent.
“I know it’s a big decision, obviously they changed the captaincy with [Harry] Maguire, but Fernandes is not captain material. He is a talented player no doubt about it. But what I saw today – we’ve discussed many times before, it was last season at Liverpool – his whinging, his moaning and throwing his arms up in the air constantly.
“It really isn’t acceptable. From what we saw today, I’m thinking I would take that off him. You have to start somewhere. We were talking about where do you start [fixing the problems] – the manager, board level. I would start with that because the manager is capable of doing that. Fernandes is a brilliant footballer but in terms of captain material he is the opposite to what I would want in a captain.”
Ten Hag apology
Following the dismissal of Ten Hag by the board in October due to a poor start to the 2024/25 Premier League season, Fernandes supposedly reached out to the Dutchman to apologise for the team’s lacklustre performances.
He stated: “We know that Erik has gone. It is not good for anyone at the club when the manager goes. The team is not the best, the results are not the best and he is the one who pays for it. Whenever you see a manager go, you have to take some of the blame on yourself. It is because the team is not doing so well.
“It is easier to get rid of a manager than 15 players. I spoke to the manager and apologised to him. I was disappointed he has gone and I tried to help him. I wasn’t scoring goals, we are not scoring goals, and I feel responsible. I normally score a lot of goals, but I always gave 100 per cent. He is aware of that.”
Under Ten Hag, United only managed three league victories before his dismissal following a 2-1 defeat to West Ham in late October. This dismal start came after an equally disappointing eighth-place finish in the 2023/24 season. However, according to Keane, Fernandes’ apology for the team’s performance was dismissed as “too little, too late”.
The Irishman commented: “Listen, these are always awkward interviews for players but I wouldn’t have much patience for a player to say, ‘listen, sorry, we’ve let you down’. Too little too late. You judge what they do on the football pitch and I don’t think Bruno has done enough in a lot of the games.
“He didn’t show that leadership so it’d be interesting to hear obviously what Ten Hag has to say about it. But you also have to move on. A lot of players don’t care that much when a manager goes. They’ll just focus on the next manager coming in, they’ll get ready and they’ll look after themselves.
“Players can be selfish, we know that. But I don’t think Bruno done enough as the captain of Man United over the last year or two to help the manager out. Far from it. The proof’s there with all the results. It’s not just on Bruno, of course, but I don’t think he showed enough leadership skills when the going’s got tough with some of the performances and I don’t think Bruno should be too proud of himself with what’s happened to the Man United manager over the last week.”
“Baby” jibe
In March 2021, Fernandes hit out at pundits who were being critical of his performances at Old Trafford. Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of United’s 2-0 win over City – a game in which he converted a penalty – Fernandes said: “Sometimes I’m a little bit sad about the people who know about football saying so many things I don’t agree [with].
“Like, talking about the moment when in the past some of them were players, and they know football is not the moment, is not the past, and is not the future. It’s about all of these, past, moment and future, so it’s sad to see some stuff people are saying about the team, about my team-mates, about me.”
Keane, known for his no-nonsense approach, was quick to dismiss Fernandes’ reactions to criticism, stating from the studio: “We’ll watch them today against Man City, that’s it. It’s all about what you do on the football pitch. I know players under pressure do interviews and respond to criticism.
“Just get on with it, don’t be such a baby and focus on the game today and produce against a brilliant Man City team. And if he does well, we praise him, if he doesn’t, then he better be ready.”
“Crying” accusations
Later in the 2020/21 season, after United’s defeat to Liverpool, Keane didn’t hold back, especially regarding Fernandes’ conduct on the field. “I’ll be critical of Fernandes, he spent half the night crying on the side of the pitch. Every time he got tackled he was rolling around.”
Despite scoring in the match, Fernandes couldn’t escape Keane’s sharp critique of his performance.
A scarce U-turn
Keane made a rare admission of being “wrong” about Fernandes following United’s triumph over City in the FA Cup final last year.
The midfielder’s significant contribution, including an assist for the decisive goal, earned Keane’s recognition. He wasted no time in heaping praise on Fernandes for his impressive display during United’s victory at Wembley.
“It was a proper United performance. They were dogged, they sat in and they played some good stuff going forward,” said Keane. “They scored two goals. They had a bit of confidence coming into the game with the last couple of results against Newcastle and Brighton. The character.
“I have been critical of Bruno over the years but I am happy to be proved wrong because his leadership today was outstanding. We always mention how brilliant he is as a player. I am pleased for the fans. It’s been a frustrating few months and we are quick to criticise.
“Manchester City didn’t have a great day today but it’s about Manchester United today. We have to enjoy these moments. Wembley is only good if you win.”
With his attentions firmly fixed on their upcoming fifth-round FA Cup tie against Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday, Keane acknowledges it’s United’s primary hope for a trophy this season.
Following an exit from the League Cup quarter-finals by Spurs and lagging in 14th in the Premier League, a staggering 34 points adrift of leaders Liverpool, United have 11 games left to turn around their domestic campaign.