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Bruno Fernandes has made feelings clear on Sir Jim Ratcliffe arrival amid surprise dig at Man Utd captain
At the start of this season, manager Erik ten Hag appointed the Portugal international as United’s permanent captain, taking Harry Maguire’s place.
According to the midfielder himself, the Dutchman was so confident in his choice that he named Fernandes the new captain in front of the locker room without even consulting him.
However, the 29-year-old stepped in for Maguire on several occasions last season when he was either unavailable or not selected, as shown in Liverpool’s humiliating 7-0 thumping at Anfield in March.
‘INEOS: Grit, Rigour and Humour’, a recently published book, including an opening chapter written by Ratcliffe that looks back on 25 years of the petrochemicals firm he created.
Even though the book was mostly written from a business standpoint, the former United supporter was nonetheless able to mention Ten Hag’s side, but not in the most flattering way.
Ratcliffe described how, when visiting the Cook Islands, he had saw a rugby player being carried away in the back of a pickup truck with a broken leg.
He went on to sаy: “A far cry from Bruno Fernandes clutching his untouched face in the Liverpool debacle recently.”
Some might have been surprised that the line was included, even if the remark was probably just meant as a joke at the midfielder’s expense.
Amidst the news of Ratcliffe’s imminent entrance as a minority owner of the club, Fernandes made it clear after United’s 3-2 Boxing Day victory against Aston Villa that, although he like the idea of the INEOS founder bringing in new players, it is business as usual for the players.
The players hadn’t discussed Ratcliffe or the announcement, he said in response to an Amazon Prime question: “Not much, honestly, because it’s not going to change anything we do on the pitch.” Other than if they join and add some fresh players who can improve things for us.
“Aside from that, we must be the ones to take the field and create the necessary impact.
“Obviously, social media and newspapers are everywhere these days; it’s impossible to ignore them.
“We are aware of the current struggles the club is facing, but it won’t affect anything we do on the field.
“We focus on ourselves and the team and what we control, which is yourself and our performance.”