Chris Sutton and Rio Ferdinand slam Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes
Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton and former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand have both criticised Bruno Fernandes for his recent outburst after Manchester United’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday. The 28-year-old, who took over the armband from axed skipper Harry Maguire this summer, cut a frustrated figure in the game and was booked by referee Michael Oliver for dissent. He then demanded an apology from refereeing body PGMOL after a penalty was not awarded when Alejandro Garnacho’s first-half shot smashed into Cristian Romero’s outstretched arm.
Chris Sutton: “Bruno Fernandes for me shouldn’t be captain of Manchester United”
Sutton believes Fernandes’ comments and behaviour are not befitting of the armband and that he needs to take responsibility for his team’s performances. ‘Bruno Fernandes for me shouldn’t be captain of Manchester United, absolutely not, he’s not a leader. That basically sums him up. It’s about taking responsibility as a captain and the bottom line is, the first two performances of the season for Manchester United they have looked like a testimonial team.’
Rio Ferdinand: “I think at this point you’ve just got to be honest, man”
Ferdinand was also unimpressed with Fernandes’ post-match comments and felt he used it to deflect away from another abject performance. Speaking on his Vibe with FIVE YouTube show, Ferdinand said: ‘I think at this point you’ve just got to be honest, man. I understand why he’s upset, but he probably would have got more out of it by coming out there and going, “You know what, we’ve been s**t, we ain’t been up to the level we expect ourselves to be at and we need to get better, be better and do more”.
Conclusion
It remains to be seen whether Fernandes will remain as Manchester United captain or if the club will look to appoint someone else in his place. What is clear is that Fernandes needs to take responsibility for his team’s performances and show better leadership qualities if he is to remain in the role.