4 hours Ago By The Telegraph
Bruno Fernandes has hit back at Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s claims that some Manchester United players are “overpaid” by insisting those were the contracts the club gave them. The United captain also admitted it was “not nice” for the dressing room to hear the club’s co-owner declaring some players were “not good enough”. Ratcliffe gave an interview this week in which he offered a rather withering appraisal of some of the players Ineos had “inherited” at Old Trafford and the costs still associated with them and said some members of the squad were “not good enough” and “overpaid”.
Now Fernandes – who scored a hat-trick in United’s 4-1 Europa League victory over Real Sociedad on Thursday to set up a quarter final meeting with Lyon – has become the first player to public address the British billionaire’s remarks. “It’s not nice to hear certain things obviously,” the Portugal midfielder said. “I don’t think that any player likes to hear criticism or things that are talked about you, that you’re not good enough or you’re overpaid or whatever.
“Everyone has their own contract. The club agrees to do the contracts at the time you come here or at the time you do a new contract or whatever and it’s about yourself proving that you can be important for the club.” United head coach Ruben Amorim had suggested on Wednesday it was down to his “underperforming” players to prove Ratcliffe wrong and Fernandes echoed those sentiments.
“We need to prove ourselves every day in training, every day that we have a game,” he said. “We can’t relax at this club. You know that there’s a big standard, a big attention that you get from the media, from everywhere.
“You need to realise that sometimes you need to put your focus on your game, trying to improve yourself.” Former United captain Roy Keane – who branded the current squad as “f------ imposters” last month – has been a vocal critic of Fernandes, claiming “talent is not enough” and that the Portuguese is “not a fighter” and “could do more for the team”. Fernandes – who has been directly involved in 11 of United’s past 13 goals and scored six goals in as many games – expressed his admiration for Keane and insisted the Irishman was entitled to his opinion and hoped one day to change his mind about him.
Asked about Keane’s comments and whether strident criticism from former players from different eras was unfair, Fernandes said: “No, everyone has an opinion and that’s fine. I can’t change the mind of people. Like everything I have to do is go on the pitch and try to do the best I can for the club.
“Roy Keane was an amazing captain for the club, one of the best as everyone says. I didn’t have the chance to see much from him, only the last few years, but he was a great player that won everything for the club. “He’s massively respected from everyone and has all my respect.
He has to give his opinion on a programme and this is what he thinks about me. “What I’m doing on the pitch to try to change his mind, or trying to do something that he probably sees as a good thing. Obviously, I do it in my own way, I don’t want to copy anyone.
” ‘I try to be the best captain that I can for my team-mates’ Amorim has hailed Fernandes’ importance and influence, insisting the club “need more Brunos”, but also said after the Sociedad game that “sometimes he doesn’t trust in his team-mates” enough. But Fernandes insisted he was always there for his team-mates. “I try to be the best captain that I can for my team-mates, I try to help everyone in the best way I can and the best way I know,” he said.
“I have a lot of things to improve, not only as a captain but as a player, as a person, as a human being and that’s fine. “Criticism is going to be always part and it’s going to make me grow and understand that there’s still a long way to go.” Amorim said United “need to help Fernandes to win titles because he deserves it” but the player insisted the club only deserved whatever they delivered on the pitch.
Asked if he deserved more to show for his efforts than an FA Cup and Carabao Cup, Fernandes said: “No, I deserve the same as my team-mates. I’m in the same boat as them. If I haven’t given everything to the club yet, or more to the club, it’s because I don’t deserve it and that’s it.
As with everyone else in that dressing room. I’m not different than anyone. “It doesn’t matter how much you do, how much you score, how much you assist, that doesn’t change anything.
It’s about the team, it’s about the club to succeed. As I said, I’m very happy at the club. “Obviously, I want to win trophies.
I’m not stupid, I won’t say that I don’t want to win trophies. I want to be in the biggest competitions, I want to fight for the big trophies. That’s what I said to the club.
That’s what the club said to me that they want to do. “Then it’s about the players going on the pitch and trying to do it. It is about the club to do the investments to bring in players, take players or whatever they want to do.
“It’s not my part to say who’s good to come, that has to be the manager and the board. They have to decide themselves. I just want to do everything I can to to help the club to succeed.
” Fernandes turned down offer to leave Fernandes reiterated his revelations from last year that he had an offer to leave United last summer but decided to stay and extend his new contract. Asked if the club – currently languishing in 14th position in the Premier League – were showing the ambition he demanded at that time, Fernandes said: “I sat with the club because I had an offer to leave, we talked about the possibility of me leaving the club or staying. “They said what they wanted from me.
I just asked if they still see me as part of the future of the club or not. I spoke at the time with [former manager Erik] ten Hag also. “He was very clear with me, the club was very clear with me, that they thought I would be a big part of this rebuild that they want to do in a different way.
I heard what they had to tell me. “I thought that we could be successful. Unfortunately, we didn’t start the season very well.
Erik had to lose his job by the results we had and the performance we had, but the fault was on everyone and everyone together with the manager. “Now we are in a different moment with a new manager that thinks in a different way, that has a different way of playing. I’m still very happy at the club, I’m always happy to play for this club, to represent the club is a big honour for me.
“It doesn’t matter where we are in the league, it will always be an honour for me to be at this club and I will try my best to keep the club fighting for everything we can.”.
