Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has renewed his war of words with Roy Keane in a fresh response to the former midfielder.
Keane slams Fernandes
After the 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest earlier this month, Keane accused Fernandes of prioritising the Premier League assist record over the team.
Fernandes assisted Bryan Mbeumo’s goal to equal the Premier League assist record that was jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. But Fernandes could have been clear well before Mbeumo found the back of the net, had the Cameroonian and his fellow attackers converted some of the golden opportunities that the skipper fashioned for them.
Mbeumo would later admit that he felt that he somewhat let down Fernandes.
Keane, however, offered a sharply contrasting view, delivering a stinging critique of the Portugal international. He accused Fernandes of orchestrating a “circus act,” explaining that the player’s gimmicks evoked both “raging” and “cringing” reactions from him.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Fernandes made it clear that he would never prioritise individual accolades over collective team objectives.
Now, the 31-year-old has issued an even more forceful response to Keane, insisting outright that he lied.
Fernandes fires back
Speaking on The Diary of A CEO podcast, Fernandes said, “I don’t mind criticism. I always take criticism from everyone and never reply to anyone whatsoever. People have an opinion, they think it’s good, bad or whatever.”
“What I don’t like is when people lie about things, and in this case, what you said about Roy Keane, basically, what he said is a lie.”
The 2025/26 Premier League Player of the Season added, “Luckily for me everything is on record. Imagine if it wasn’t, then people will think Bruno is always the guy going for the assist.”
“I even asked Ole his number to text him to have a word with him, to say ‘I don’t mind the criticism, I don’t like when people lie about the things that I say’ because this goes over the top of the things I think are acceptable.”
"What I don't like is when people lie about things, and in this case, what you said about Roy Keane, basically, what he said is a lie."
Bruno Fernandes responds to Roy Keane pic.twitter.com/v5BItxAlhL
— Steven Bartlett (@StevenBartlett) May 25, 2026
Fernandes’s assist for Patrick Forgu’s opener in the Brighton match saw him become the outright holder of the assist record. He later added his ninth goal of the season, lifting his combined goal contributions to 30.
Featured image by Molly Darlington/Getty Images
The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
