17 July 2023 , 10:38
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Bruno Fernandes is in line to be the next captain of Manchester United - and he has previously fired back at club legends Gary Neville and Roy Keane after they questioned his credentials.
Since signing from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020, the Portuguese playmaker has been pivotal to United, but didn't take long to show his volatile side either. Later that season, he became embroiled in an angry confrontation with teammate Victor Lindelof as the Red Devils went out of the Europa League at the hands of Sevilla.
And last season, he was slammed following United's 7-0 defeat at Liverpool, with Neville branding the the 29-year-old as "disgraceful" after he appeared to push the linesman. Keane was also savage in his assessment, but Fernandes responded to the criticisms ahead of leading the side out in the FA Cup final against Manchester City.
Both of the former players also captained United, and had their own career flashpoints. Indeed, Fernandes argued his own passion was sometimes misconstrued, but not by manager Erik ten Hag. "I'm aware that he's really happy with the way I train, the way I play, the way I show my emotions, the way I show my passion for the game," he said. "He knows I care, that's why probably sometimes it makes you do some things that you should not do.
"But he knows that I will never do nothing to make the team look bad, my team-mates look bad, or making something that is not good for the team. He knows that, so that's why it protects me. That's why he did that in that interview and many other times."
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The Dutch boss took the decision to strip Harry Maguire of the armband on Sunday, with the centre back having struggled to hold down a regular place in the team last season. Fernandes stepped up in his absence, and also revealed that Ten Hag had regularly consulted him over team issues.
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"Whenever he thinks that he has to say something that he didn't like to me, he has called me two or three times in his office and he said 'look, we have to change this, we have to change this, I think you could do it in a different way'," he added. "We had many conversations this season."
The future of his teammate at Old Trafford now appears up in the air, but Maguire has vowed to throw his weight behind whoever takes over. In a released statement, he said: “After discussions with the manager today he has informed me he is changing captain.
"He outlined his reasons to me and whilst I’m personally extremely disappointed, I will continue to give my all every time I wear the shirt. So I wanted to say a massive thank you to the Manchester United fans for all their brilliant support whilst I’ve been wearing the armband. "