Fernandes Fires Back At Keane Over ‘Lie’ About Assist Record

‎Bruno Fernandes has hit back at Roy Keane, accusing him of spreading a “lie” about his chase for the Premier League assists record.

‎The Manchester United captain set a new single-season benchmark on Sunday, reaching 21 assists in the 3-0 victory over Brighton.

‎Bruno Fernandes had matched the previous assists record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne during Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest.

‎Roy Keane later claimed the midfielder was chasing personal milestones rather than prioritising the team. Keane went as far as describing Fernandes as the centre of a “circus act,” a portrayal Fernandes firmly rejects.

‎Speaking on The Overlap podcast.

‎Keane 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 those passes.’ Wow. How can your mindset as 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’ words after Roy Keane’s comment

‎Fernandes’s actual post-match remarks were, “There were probably moments today when I should have passed instead of shot. I’m very happy for the assistance. But more than that, I’m happy for the win and to finish the season on a high.”

‎Fernandes said Keane, a former United captain, had put untrue “words in my mouth”. He told The Diary of a CEO podcast.

‎“As I’ve always said, I don’t mind criticism. I’ve always taken criticism from everyone and anyone and I never reply to anything 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, everything is 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.”

‎Keane then appeared to stoke the feud by posting on Instagram. “Too much attention makes a donkey think he’s a lion.”

‎Present Situation

‎Fernandes revealed that he even called Ole Gunnar Solskjær, hoping to get Roy Keane’s number so he could sort things out man-to-man.

‎“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.”