\n<\/p>\n
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes firmly defended his character and achievements as he accused Roy Keane of telling a “lie” about his pursuit of the Premier League assists record.<\/b><\/p>\n
Fernandes said Keane had put untrue “words in my mouth” on a recent podcast appearance and he hopes to contact the United legend to set him straight.<\/p>\n
Keane described Fernandes as being at the centre of a “circus act” following United’s 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest on the penultimate weekend of the season.<\/p>\n
He suggested the Portugal international was prioritising individual assists glory over the team’s interests in his eagerness to set the single-season record.<\/p>\n
Speaking on podcast The Overlap, Keane had 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 them passes.’ Wow. How can your mindset of a footballer be going into a match to be about an individual record?<\/p>\n
“He won’t be winning trophies, not with that mindset of the team.”<\/p>\n
Fernandes’ actual post-match comments were: “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.”<\/p>\n
Former Republic of Ireland and United captain Keane appeared to have misinterpreted Fernandes’ comments rather than sought to distort the truth.<\/p>\n
Fernandes registered a record-equalling 20th assist of the season in United’s win against Forest, and then took the record outright on the final day in the victory at Brighton.<\/p>\n
That took Fernandes past the mark previously set by Thierry Henry and Kevin de Bruyne.<\/p>\n
His anger over Keane’s comments was clear as he told podcast The Diary of a CEO: “Like I’ve always said, I don’t mind criticism. I’ve always taken criticism from everyone and anyone and I never reply to anything or whatsoever.<\/p>\n
“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\u2026 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 is everything on record.<\/p>\n
“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. That’s the only thing I don’t like.”<\/p>\n
Fernandes is not the first player in the current squad to have voiced disapproval towards a United great.<\/p>\n
Earlier this season, Lisandro Martinez was involved in a spat with Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt after they made comments about his height and ability to compete with Erling Haaland in the Manchester derby.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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