Bruno Fernandes DEFENDS his arm-waving rants at Man United team-mates and says he’s ‘naturally intense – not bad-tempered’, as he reveals how he deals with being a leader in the dressing room

Bruno Fernandes has defended his mid-game ranting as ‘intensity’ and a leadership strategy – as opposed to the fury and shirking some see it as – following criticism of his on-field conduct.

The Manchester United captain feels he is misunderstood and explained that he openly rebukes others ‘for the benefit of the team’.

Fernandes also opened up on his leadership style behind the scenes in an apparent attempt to rebuke those who feel he should not have the United armband.

The 29-year-old’s performances have picked up but in the past he has faced intense scrutiny with some, including Roy Keane, feeling he should be stripped of the captaincy.

‘This [being demanding] often conveys the image of bad temper, because it comes from the way we experience the game, from how we are so intense… and intense players are difficult to understand,’ he told A Bola.  

The Manchester United captain is noted for his moaning and furious gesticulating on the pitch

‘I have this notion that there are probably a lot of people who don’t like certain things I do, but in every locker room I go to, I always say that if a player doesn’t feel comfortable with the way I talk to him, with the way I convey the message to you, I am open to not doing it or to trying to do it in another way.

‘But have you ever had these episodes in the locker room, have they ever come to you and told you directly, for example, “don’t talk to me like that”?

‘I never had that “don’t talk to me like that” confrontation. I have had the perception of players who feel very down if someone talks to them or if I talk to them.

‘It’s a little natural. I don’t think much about this issue. Many times it goes well, many times it goes badly. There are people who like it, others who don’t like it. There are people who see pointing as bragging, because for us in the field it is difficult to convey messages in the way we are here talking. It’s practically impossible. 

‘Normally, we have to use our arms more, gesture. We are too far away from each other to be able to understand the messages we want to convey to each other.’

Fernandes was widely praised following United’s 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final win over Liverpool on Sunday, when he played 120 minutes in an inspired comeback performance. 

Fans hailed him as a ‘proper captain’ for giving a pep talk to Marcus Rashford against Liverpool after he missed – and the forward went on to equalise 

Fernandes explained how he never hides from difficult conversations and points simply to get his message across better

The Portuguese playmaker even filled in as a makeshift centre-back in the dying embers of the game, assuming new responsibility as Erik ten Hag piled on attacking substitutions. 

Following the game, fans hailed him as a ‘proper captain’ for consoling Marcus Rashford after one of his misses – only for the forward to go on and score a critical leveller in extra-time before Amad Diallo’s winner.  

However, his captaincy has often attracted ire and Keane, who skippered United to the Treble in 1998/99, is among his most vocal critics.

Earlier this season, he launched a scorching attack on the midfielder, saying: ‘The first thing I would do is take the captaincy off him. I know it’s a big decision but Fernandes is not captain material.

‘He’s a talented player, but what I saw today, he’s whinging, he’s moaning, he’s throwing his arms up in the air constantly.

‘It really isn’t acceptable. When you’re talking about where do they make changes – board level, managers – I’d start with that because the manager is capable of doing that.

‘Fernandes is a brilliant footballer but he’s the opposite to what you want in a captain.’

Earlier this month, former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer branded Fernandes ‘too passionate’ and claimed that he ‘loses control’.

Roy Keane has previously urged Man United to strip Fernandes  of the club captaincy

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has previously labelled Fernandes ‘too passionate’ and thinks Harry Maguire is a better leader 

He sees ‘captain qualities’ in Fernandes – unlike many of the divisive midfielder’s critics – but sees Maguire as the greater ‘leader’.

Solskjaer signed Maguire for £80million in the summer of 2019 and installed him as skipper within six months, but the armband was whisked away and passed to Fernandes in 2023 under Ten Hag.

‘I knew Bruno Fernandes had captain qualities when I was manager at Manchester United,’ Solskjaer told the Stick to Football Podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet. 

‘He’s got the personality and quality, but he knows and I’ve told him, that he’s too passionate at times and he loses a bit of control.

‘I loved Harry Maguire as a captain, he was the leader in that group for me when I was at the club.’ 

On Mail Sport’s football podcast It’s All Kicking Off, Sutton also argued that Fernandes should be defrocked of the armband, criticising his histrionics and abuse towards officials. 

Chris Sutton has insisted that the midfielder should not be captain as he tries to offload blame onto referees too often

‘Bruno Fernandes first and foremost needs to sort himself out, his team out, before looking at referees and their decisions,’ he said. 

‘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, like a team that’s still stuck in pre-season and he needs to turn up and show better leadership qualities – not blaming referees.’

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.