Diogo Dalot is the latest Manchester United voice to respond to Roy Keane’s scathing criticism of Bruno Fernandes by passionately defending the club captain. It follows United head coach Ruben Amorim’s public praise of the 30-year-old midfielder after Keane suggested he was among the “imposters” in the current squad.
The former Red Devils skipper stole the headlines in February with his explosive rant aimed at Ian Wright over the current state of his old employers. Fernandes is regularly hailed for his consistent goal contributions since landing at Old Trafford in 2020, registering 28 in all competitions this season. But Keane told Stick to Football: “They drew at Everton, and it’s like they won the cup. It’s bizarre. I see the fans at matches, and they are singing for Bruno; these boys are imposters.
“I have had enough of that rubbish [people defending Fernandes]. Watch the game with him, watch him against Leicester in the FA Cup, watch them against Everton, people pretending to close people down.”
Fernandes has ensured Keane’s thin-veined comments have aged poorly with his continued impressive exploits on the pitch, scoring five goals in four games since the podcast.
The Portuguese maestro most recently powered United into the Europa League quarter-finals with a hat-trick against Real Sociedad on Thursday night.
After full-time, his compatriot Dalot continued to bang the same drum as Fernandes’ head coach, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his past and present team-mates.
“Bruno is a top player – and he’s one of those players who takes responsibility and doesn’t hide under pressure,” the 25-year-old said after finishing the scoring in United’s 4-1 win.
“I think he has shown since he arrived that he is an important player and a decisive player for us.
“I think he shows every day what Manchester United is about, so we’re really happy for him, and hopefully he can keep doing what he does.
“Bruno leads by example. You see on the pitch how hard he works, and off the pitch, he is exactly the same.”
Sir Jim didn’t speak kindly of multiple United players during his candid interviews at the start of the week. But he made Fernandes’ importance at Old Trafford clear.
And regardless of whether Fernandes stays put or not, Dalot believes United are heading in the right direction under their new-look INEOS regime
He added: “If you are a top footballer, you need to be able to change things quickly. But obviously it does take time because we have been playing in the last few years in a different way.
“You can see this is a period of change, especially since INEOS have come in. The club wants to go in a direction. They want to rebuild Man United and put Man United back on top.
“I hope in the next couple of years we can go there. I think you are now seeing a much better team than a couple of months ago.”