Bruno Fernandes told to LEAVE Man Utd after Roy Keane rant – ‘He deserves better’

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has torn into current skipper Bruno Fernandes, but the Portugal international still has a few people fighting his corner

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been urged to leave Old Trafford because he deserves to play for a better club.

Fernandes, 30, has yet to win a league title during his playing career. He has picked up domestic cups with United and with previous club Sporting CP, and played for Portugal in their 2019 UEFA Nations League final victory, but the closest he has come to a league title was when United finished a distant second in 2020-21.

The skipper has come in for criticism for his performances this season, with United languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table. Roy Keane was the latest former star to tear into the Portuguese international, calling Fernandes and his team-mates “imposters”.

Keane’s fellow pundit Ian Wright came to Fernandes’ defence. And now Joe Cole, a former team-mate of Wright at West Ham, has done the same.

“I think there could be a natural separation for Bruno Fernandes and Manchester United,” Cole told Paddy Power “He’s a brilliant footballer.

“He’s not a perfect footballer like Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes or Kevin De Bruyne but he’s a brilliant footballer who has been absolutely fantastic for Manchester United during the most difficult period the club has had in 40-odd years.

“He can more than hold his head up with what he’s achieved in Manchester, but I think he deserves to play in a better team. It’ll be a nice separation point for the club, and it will benefit both. United need players who will do things that don’t suit Bruno. They need to build a strong base around the club, and they might have to cash in on him and bring players in who have different attributes.”

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Cole’s comments come after Keane pulled no punches when it came to Fernandes. Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, the Irishman demanded more from United’s number eight.

“Talent is not enough!” Keane said in conversation with Wright before referencing the striker’s former Arsenal team-mate Tony Adams. “You keep going back to talent – Bruno’s a talented player, but it’s not enough.

“Who were you in the dressing room with? Tony Adams. [You say] ‘Tony Adams was this, Tony Adams was that’, because he was a fighter. You’ve got young players who have to look at somebody and go ‘I like what he does’. They all can’t put the ball in the top of the net from 25 yards, I get that, but you want someone who’s going ‘Lads, are you with me? Are you with me?’”

United manager Ruben Amorim has himself defended Fernandes in the light of Keane’s criticism. “I heard about that – I have a different opinion,” Amorim told reporters ahead of United’a FA Cup meeting with Fulham on Sunday.

“Bruno is really important for us in the club, especially for me. He’s playing well in a difficult context and he always wants the responsibility.

“I know as a captain he does things sometimes with his arms, criticising his team-mates, but most of all it’s a bit of frustration. He wants to win and sometimes it’s difficult to deal with that frustration. Roy Keane has big standards from his time. But I think my opinion is more important than Roy Keane’s because I am the coach.”

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