Bruno Fernandes defended his mid-match comments as “intensity” and a leadership strategy – as opposed to the fury and dodging that some see it – following criticism of his on-field conduct.
The Manchester United captain feels misunderstood and says he openly berates others “for the benefit of the team”.
Fernandes also revealed his leadership style behind the scenes, in an apparent attempt to rebuke those who feel he should not wear the United armband.
The 29-year-old’s performances have improved, but in the past he has faced scrutiny from some, including Roy Keane, who believe he should be stripped of the captaincy.
“It (being demanding) often conveys the image of bad character, because it comes from the way we experience the game, the way we are so intense… and intense players are difficult to understand,” did he declare. A Bola.
Bruno Fernandes shrugged off criticism of his on-pitch rants, explaining he’s just ‘intense’
The Manchester United captain is known for his angry moans and gesticulations on the pitch.
Your browser does not support iframes.
“I feel like there’s probably a lot of people that don’t like certain things that I do, but in every locker room that I go to, I always say that if a player doesn’t feel comfortable with the way I talk to him, with the way I convey the message to you, I’m open to not doing it or trying to do it another way.
“But have you ever had those episodes in the locker room, have they ever come up to you and said directly, like, ‘don’t talk to me like that’?
“I never had that confrontation like ‘don’t talk to me like that.’ I have had the perception of players feeling very depressed if someone talks to them or if I talk to them.
“It’s a bit natural. I don’t think about this question much. Often things go well, often things go badly. There are people who like it, others who don’t. There are people who consider pointing fingers to be bragging, because for us on the ground it is difficult to convey messages in the way we speak here. It’s practically impossible.
“Normally we have to use our arms more, the gesture. We are too far from each other to be able to understand the messages we want to send to each other.
Fernandes was widely praised following United’s 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool on Sunday, when he played 120 minutes in an inspired comeback performance.
Fans hailed him as a ‘good captain’ for giving Marcus Rashford a pep talk against Liverpool after his miss – and the striker went on to equalise.
Fernandes explained that he never hides from difficult conversations and simply emphasizes to get his point across better.
The Portuguese playmaker even acted as a makeshift centre-back in the final stages of the match, taking on new responsibilities as Erik ten Hag made more attacking substitutions.
After the match, supporters hailed him as a “full captain” for consoling Marcus Rashford after one of his misses – only for the striker to go on and score a critical equalizer in extra time before the winner Amad Diallo.
However, his captaincy has often attracted anger and Keane, who captained United to the Treble in 1998/99, is among his harshest critics.
Earlier this season he launched a blistering attack on the midfielder, saying: “The first thing I would do is take the captaincy away from him. I know it’s an important decision but Fernandes is not a captain.
“He’s a talented player, but what I saw today is he’s complaining, he’s moaning, he’s constantly throwing his arms in the air.
“This is really not acceptable. When you talk about where they make changes – at the board level, at the managers level – I would start with that because the manager is able to do that.
“Fernandes is a brilliant footballer but he is the opposite of what you expect from a captain.”
Earlier this month, former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer branded Fernandes “too passionate” and claimed he was “losing control”.
Roy Keane has previously urged Man United to strip Fernandes of the club captaincy.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has already called Fernandes ‘too passionate’ and thinks Harry Maguire is a better leader
He sees “captainlike qualities” in Fernandes – unlike most critics of the divisive midfielder – but considers Maguire the biggest “leader”.
Solskjaer signed Maguire for £80 million in the summer of 2019 and installed him as skipper within six months, but the armband was taken away and passed to Fernandes in 2023 under Ten Hag.
“I knew Bruno Fernandes had captaincy qualities when I was manager at Manchester United,” Solskjaer told Stick to the Football Podcastpresented by Sky bet.
“He has personality and quality, but he knows, and I told him, that sometimes he is too passionate and he loses control a little.
“I loved Harry Maguire as captain, he was the leader of that group for me when I was at the club.”
On the Mail Sport football podcast Everything startsSutton also argued that Fernandes should be stripped of the armband, criticizing his histrionics and abuse of public officials.
Chris Sutton has insisted the midfielder should not be captain because he too often tries to blame the referees.
“Bruno Fernandes must first and foremost look after himself and his team before looking at the referees and their decisions,” he said.
“Bruno Fernandes, for me, should not be captain of Manchester United, absolutely not. He is not a leader. That basically sums him up.
“It’s about taking responsibility as captain and at the end of the day the first two performances of the season for Manchester United have looked like a testimonial team, a team that is still stuck in pre-season and he needs to come forward and show better leadership qualities – without blaming the referees.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, presented by Sky bet.