Bruno Fernandes apology rejection, Roy Keane's calls to strip captain, Casemiro row

Roy Keane questioned whether Bruno Fernandes is the right man to lead Manchester United in a heated row with Ian Wright earlier this week.

The two were discussing the current state of the Red Devils during a recent instalment of The Overlap, when 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."

As Wright rushed to the midfielder's defence, Keane insisted: "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," continuing: "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 adding: "Talent is not enough.

"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?'." It's not the first time that Keane has taken issue with Fernandes since he arrived at Old Trafford in a £47million move from Sporting CP in January 2020.

But what have the former club captain's critiques of the current skipper looked like over the years? Here, Mirror Football breaks it down - from calls to revoke captaincy to being branded a "baby"...

Row over Casemiro

Fernandes was quick to rush to the defence of Casemiro as the Brazilian midfielder was called out by Keane and Gary Neville in the wake of Manchester United's 3-0 thrashing from Liverpool earlier this season. Casemiro made two errors to allow Liverpool to take the lead before half time in the game, before he was replaced by Toby Collyer during the break.

The 33-year-old was singled out by Keane and Neville as they analysed the match, but Fernandes later asked pundits not to dig out individual players while defending Casemiro's off-day. He explained at the time: "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.

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

"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." Erik ten Hag also backed Casemiro to bounce back from his errors, explaining: "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."

Calls to revoke captaincy

Keane called for Fernandes to be stripped of his captaincy following a 3-0 loss to fierce rivals Manchester City in October 2023, complaining the 30-year-old wasn't fit to lead the side. He claimed: "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."

Apology to Ten Hag comes as "Too little, too late"

After Ten Hag was sacked by the board in October following a dismal start to the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, Fernandes reportedly called up the Dutchman to apologise for the team's performances. He explained: "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.

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

"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."

United had just three league wins to their name under Ten Hag when he was dismissed following their 2-1 loss to West Ham in late October. That horrific start followed on from their dismal eighth-place finish in the 2023/24 season. However, Fernandes' apology for team performances fell on deaf ears according to Keane, who dubbed his words as "too little, too late".

The Irishman said: "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" comment

In March 2021, Fernandes hit out a 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].

Image: CameraSport via Getty Images) CameraSport via Getty Images)

"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."

However, hard-headed Keane was unable to listen to Fernandes' opinions of criticism, retorting 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."

Accusations of "crying"

Later in the 2020/21 campaign, followingUnited's 4-2 loss to Liverpool, Keane further shared his opinion of Fernandes - taking particular problem with the midfielder "rolling around" on the ground. He said: "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." Fernandes ultimately scored during the fixture alongside Marcus Rashford, but his success in front of goal was not enough to spare him from a scathing critique for his overall performance on the night.

A rare U-turn

Keane admitted that he was "wrong" in his assessment of Fernandes as United pulled of a 2-1 upset over City in the FA Cup final last season. The captain played a massive part in the Red Devils' victory on the day, including setting-up Mainoo for the game-winning goal.

It didn't take long for Keane to give Fernandes his flowers for a stellar performance at Wembley. Speaking to ITV sport, he said: "It was a proper United performance. They were dogged, they sat in and they played some good stuff going forward.

"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.

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

"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."

Keane will have one eye on United's fifth-round FA Cup clash with Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday, given it's their only chance of domestic silverware this season. Having been knocked out of the League Cup in the quarter-finals by Spurs, the Red Devils currently languish 14th in the Premier League standings, 34 points behind league leaders Liverpool with 11 games left to play.

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