Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes firmly defended his character and achievements as he accused Roy Keane of telling a “lie” about his pursuit of the Premier League assists record.
Fernandes said Keane had put untrue “words in my mouth” on a recent podcast appearance and he hopes to contact the United legend to set him straight.
Keane described Fernandes as being at the centre of a “circus act” following United’s 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest on the penultimate weekend of the season.
He suggested the Portugal international was prioritising individual assists glory over the team’s interests in his eagerness to set the single-season record.
Speaking on podcast The Overlap, Keane had said: “After the [Forest] game he got interviewed and he said, the captain of Manchester United said: ‘A few times, I probably should have shot but I made them passes.’ Wow. How can your mindset of a footballer be going into a match to be about an individual record? He won’t be winning trophies, not with that mindset of the team.”
Fernandes’ actual post-match comments were: “There were probably moments today when I should have passed instead of shot. I’m very happy for the assist, but more than that, I’m happy for the win and to finish the season on a high.”
Former Republic of Ireland and United captain Keane appeared to have misinterpreted Fernandes’ comments rather than sought to distort the truth.
Keane posted a drawing of a braying donkey on Instagram on Monday evening, following Fernandes’ response, with the caption “Too much attention makes a donkey think he’s a lion”. It sparked speculation the comment was retaliation aimed at Fernandes, but Keane did not specify that.
Fernandes registered a record-equalling 20th assist of the season in United’s win against Forest, and then took the record outright on the final day in the victory at Brighton. It moved him past the mark set by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne.
His anger over Keane’s comments was clear as he told podcast The Diary of a CEO: “Like I’ve always said, I don’t mind criticism. I’ve always taken criticism from everyone and anyone and I never reply to anything or whatsoever.
“People have an opinion; they think it’s good, bad, whatever. What I don’t like is when people lie about things and [in] this case that you said about Roy Keane basically what he said is a lie because… either he saw some other interview or he can’t say that I said one thing that I’ve just not said and luckily for me is everything on record.
“I accept his criticism, I accept that he might like me as a player or not, like me as a person or not. But what I don’t like is that he puts words in my mouth that have not been said. That’s the only thing I don’t like.”
Fernandes is not the first player in the current squad to have voiced disapproval towards a United great.
Earlier this season, Lisandro Martinez was involved in a spat with Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt after they made comments about his height and ability to compete with Erling Haaland in the Manchester derby.