Bruno Fernandes accuses Roy Keane of 'lying' as he hits back at Man Utd legend's 'over the top' criticism

The feud began when Keane, speaking on The Overlap last Monday, expressed his fury over the narrative surrounding Fernandes equalling the Premier League's single-season assist record during a victory over Nottingham Forest. Keane suggested that the captain was more interested in personal accolades than the team's overall performance.

The United legend said: "When you're the captain of a club and you're supposed to be driving the club forward, do not be getting bogged down by just your role in the team, just assists. What I heard at United at the weekend, honestly, I was raging with it. The whole chat about his assists... Everyone, the players were [talking about it], the game was about his assists. That's the whole thing. After the game he got interviewed and he said, the captain of Manchester United, said 'A few times, I probably should have... shot but I made the passes.' Wow. How can your mindset be not to win the match but be about an individual record?"

Fernandes has now responded to those claims, appearing on The Diary of a CEO podcast to defend his reputation. The playmaker was particularly unhappy with the way his post-match comments were characterised by the Irishman, claiming that the version of events presented by Keane simply did not happen.

It was highlighted that Fernandes had actually said the exact opposite in his post-match interview: "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."

Addressing Keane's version of that quote directly, Fernandes later told podcast host Steven Bartlett: "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. 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 [Gunnar Solskjaer] 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."

Despite noise, Fernandes eventually surged ahead to become the outright Premier League assist record holder with 21 following a 3-0 win over Brighton, in which he set up a goal for Patrick Dorgu. This feat saw him surpass the previous benchmark set by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, cementing his status as the division's premier creator. It capped off an individual season that saw him named the Premier League Player of the Season while leading his side back into the Champions League places.

While Keane remains unconvinced by the midfielder's leadership style, new permanent manager Michael Carrick has been vocal in his support. Carrick, who recently signed a fresh two-year deal at Old Trafford, views the Portuguese international as the cornerstone of his future plans as the club prepares for a return to Europe's elite competition.

Speaking on the captain’s future and impact, Carrick said: "He’s such an influence for us and he’s been the captain and led by example in different ways. I’ve got no reason to think otherwise [regarding him staying]. We’ve loved what he’s done and he loves being here, I think you can see that."