‘You don’t know me’ – Fernandes hits back at critics after Man Utd legends question behaviour

Man Utd captain Bruno Fernandes has hit back at pundits and former players who have questioned his demeanour in the past.

The Red Devils had a nightmare season in 2024/25 with Ruben Amorim’s side finishing 15th in the Premier League, while they lost the Europa League final to Tottenham.

Man Utd are not competing in European competition this season and have had a mixed start to the new campaign with four points from their first three Premier League matches.

They are already out of the League Cup, with League Two side Grimsby Town knocking Man Utd out on penalties after the Red Devils came back to draw 2-2 in normal time.

Fernandes has been one of the only shining lights in recent years with his goals and assists crucial to Man Utd keeping some level of respectability.

Both Gary Neville and Roy Keane have praised Fernandes in the past for this aspect of his game but the Red Devils legends have also been critical of his leadership and demeanour on and off the pitch.

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After Man Utd lost 4-1 against Newcastle in April, Keane branded the Man Utd players as “bluffers” with Fernandes just providing “soundbites”.

Keane said: “To be fair to Bruno Fernandes he fronts up, but to me it’s just soundbites now.

“He was talking about his teammates and belief, but what about his right-back [Diogo] Dalot, who didn’t put a leg out to tackle? I hope he is pulling him in the dressing room because he keeps talking about having belief in his teammates, but real good teammates put demands on each other.

“It must be tough playing in that midfield when the expectation is on him because that’s unfair on him. But when he’s doing his chats about supporters and this, to me it’s just soundbites. There is no meaning to it. I’m not sure this United group are an honest group.

“The best players I played with put demands on me and wouldn’t tolerate me cutting corners. That’s what really good teammates do. These aren’t teammates, they are bluffers.”

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Man Utd captain Fernandes admits he accepts all different opinions but what he doesn’t do is “judge people until I know them”.

When asked by the BBC about what people most commonly get wrong about him, Fernandes said: “Nothing. People have an opinion about me and I can’t change that. It’s the way people want to judge you about what they see on the pitch, some of them what they see on television, some of them what they see on interviews.

“I can’t change that. They have the freedom to think the way they want about me, as I have the same freedom to think about them. But what I don’t do is I don’t judge people until I know them.

“They can have an opinion about me and that’s fine. We all have different opinions, that’s why life is so good and so different. Because if we all think the same way it will be so boring.”