Former Manchester United goalkeeper and club legend, David De Gea, took to social media to defend his old teammate Bruno Fernandes from the barrage of criticism he has recently faced about his captaincy.
The Red Devils secured a vital, narrow 1-0 victory yesterday against Fulham to slightly ease the pressure on the manager and the players. Captain Bruno Fernandes showed up in a big way yesterday in the dying embers of the contest.
The Portugese midfielder showed his class by staying calm and after wriggling this way and that to get off a shot, placed the ball just out of reach of Bernd Leno in the Fulham goal. The players and fans went wild alike and United followers could go home happy with another three points on the road.
However, this season has not always gone to plan for the side from the red half of Manchester. Results have been erratic to say the least and many players have come under public fire. Bruno Fernandes is no exception. The man from Portugal has been called out numerous times for his suitability for the role of captain.
Sky Sports pundit, Roy Keane, has been a vocal critic of the midfielder. The Irishman claimed that after United’s 3-0 loss at home to Manchester City, he would “100%” take the captain’s armband off Fernandes.
The former United captain explained “I think he’s a talented player no doubt about it but what I saw with him again and I know we discussed it many times before, like Liverpool last year, but his whinging and moaning.”
The former midfield general would go on to state that Bruno Fernandes is the furthest thing from a captain in his eyes. Damning words from one of United’s most decorated and respected leaders of all time.
"He's the opposite to what I would want in a captain!"
Roy Keane says he would take the captaincy off Bruno Fernandes 😳 pic.twitter.com/r8ynceAum8
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 29, 2023
However, according to The Mirror, former teammate De Gea took to social media to fire off a response seemingly aimed at Keane. Fernandes had posted on Instagram after the win on Saturday lunchtime and the Spanish free agent goalkeeper commented below “you are not the right captain”.
The timing of the social media post is a clear tongue-in-cheek retort to Fernandes’ critics. Another former Spanish player, Juan Mata, also took to Instagram to defend his ex-colleague.
The Spaniard reeled off a bunch of complimentary adjectives to describe the current Manchester United captain such as professional, decisive, leader and talented to name a few. Mata finished the post by stating “and imperfect, just like the rest of us. Always in my team”.
No doubt Bruno Fernandes will appreciate the support of not only his current but also former teammates. Being the skipper of the 2023/2024 United team is no easy feat.
For a lot of Manchester United fans it is hard to lay a big proportion of the blame at Fernandes’ feet. The midfielder has been asked to play in a number of different positions already this term and also scored three goals. Only Casemiro has more for the Red Devils this season. As Mata stated, nobody is perfect but Bruno is far from the club’s biggest concern.