Bruno Fernandes Responds to Keane’s “Lie” After Setting Assists Record

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has accused former United midfielder Roy Keane of lying about his claim that Fernandes had won the Premier League record for most assists in a single season.

Fernandes finished the season with 21 assists for United, a record that was confirmed when he set up Patrick Dorgu’s goal in the 3‑0 victory over Brighton on Sunday.

The 31‑year‑old matched the previous record, shared by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, a week earlier when United beat Nottingham Forest 3‑2.

Keane, however, has expressed scepticism about Fernandes’ pursuit of the landmark.

In a recent interview, Keane said that Fernandes had prioritised individual accolades over the team’s interests, describing him as the centre of a “circus act”.

Speaking on The Overlap podcast, Keane added: “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 clarified that his own comments were misrepresented. He had said: “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.”

When asked on Monday about Keane’s remarks, Fernandes responded on The Diary of a CEO podcast: “Like I’ve always said, I don’t mind criticism. 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.”

He added: “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 everything is on record. 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.”

Fernandes’ strong season helped United finish third in the Premier League and earned him the Football Writers Association and Premier League Player of the Season awards.

He was so upset with Keane’s criticism that he contacted former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to obtain the Irishman’s phone number so the two could discuss the matter.

“Obviously I think I’ve always shown a lot of respect for Roy Keane and for everything he’s done for the club and for everything he’s always said,” Fernandes said. “What I don’t like is that people make their own words on what I say and it’s not true.”

AFP

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