Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane launched a scathing attack on Bruno Fernandes and the Manchester United squad after the midfielder equalled the Premier League single-season assists record during Sunday’s match against Nottingham Forest.
Fernandes registered his 20th assist of the 2025–26 league campaign when he set up Bryan Mbeumo in United’s victory at Old Trafford. While many praised Fernandes for the milestone, Keane reacted furiously during an appearance on ‘The Overlap’ with former teammate Gary Neville.
“What I heard at United the weekend, honestly, I was raging with it,” Keane said. “The whole chat about his assists, and players talking about assists.”
The former United captain reserved particular criticism for Fernandes’ post-match
comments, especially after the midfielder admitted he had sometimes chosen to pass instead of shoot.
“He got interviewed after the match, and the captain of Manchester United said, ‘Yeah, a few times I probably should have shot, but I made them passes,’” Keane said. “Wow. How can a footballer’s mindset be going out to a match and be talking about some individual record?”
Keane also criticised the reaction of United’s players after Mbeumo’s goal, claiming the celebrations focused too heavily on Fernandes’ assist rather than the team’s overall performance.
“All the players, when he got the assist, going to him… what about the guy who scored the goal?” Keane remarked.
Despite Neville defending Fernandes by highlighting his ambition to win trophies at United, Keane remained unconvinced and questioned the mentality within the squad.
“He won’t be winning trophies, not with that mindset,” Keane said. “It’s mind-boggling. It’s a circus act.”
What else did Bruno Fernandes say?
After the game, the Portuguese midfielder admitted he was pleased with the achievement, saying: “It’s the highest I’ve done in the Premier League, so I am very happy with it.”
He also reflected on matching the numbers produced by Premier League legends Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, adding: “We’re speaking about Thierry and Kevin, two of the main names of the Premier League, and, for me, I’m very grateful and very happy to do it.”
