Roy Keane has made a cryptic post on social media, appearing to take a dig back at Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes.
The Man United legend’s post comes after Fernandes accused him of lying when speaking about his new Premier League record.
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Fernandes made history on Sunday, becoming the first player ever to provide 21 assists in a single English top-flight campaign.
He did so by setting up Patrick Dorgu in the Red Devils’ 3-0 win over Brighton at the Amex Stadium on the final day of action.
But it was before he did that that Keane took issue with how the Portugal international was going about his quest for the record.
Keane said that Fernandes ‘won’t be winning trophies’ with his mindset, after the legend thought that he admitted he should have shot instead of passing in certain moments against Nottingham Forest.
However, the Man United skipper has clearly taken issue with those comments, calling Keane out for lying.
He told The Diary of a CEO podcast: “Like I’ve always said, I don’t mind criticism. I’ve always taken criticism from everyone and anyone and I never reply to anything whatsoever. People have an opinion; they think it’s good, bad, whatever.
“What I don’t like is when people lie about things and this case that you said about Roy Keane basically, what he said is a lie because either he saw some other interview or he can’t say that I said one thing that I’ve just not said and luckily for me, everything is on record.
“I accept his criticism, I accept that he might like me as a player or not, like me as a person or not. But what I don’t like is that he puts words in my mouth that have not been said. That’s the only thing I don’t like.”
Since Fernandes’ interview was released, his quotes about Keane have spread – and now it appears the ex-midfielder has reacted.
Keane posted an image of a donkey on his Instagram story with the words, ‘Too much attention makes a donkey think he’s a lion’, and that has ignited speculation that he is hitting back at Fernandes.
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What did Keane say about Fernandes?
Keane began the feud with Fernandes by commenting on his approach against Forest when chasing his assist record.
Speaking on The Overlap, he said: “After the game he got interviewed and he said, the captain of Manchester United said: ‘A few times, I probably should have shot but I made them passes.’
“Wow. How can your mindset of a footballer be going into a match to be about an individual record?
“He won’t be winning trophies, not with that mindset of the team.”
However, Fernandes was left aggrieved by the fact that he didn’t actually say the words he was criticised for.
The United captain’s actual post-match comments were, via the BBC: “There were probably moments today when I should have passed instead of shot.
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“I’m very happy for the assist, but more than that, I’m happy for the win and to finish the season on a high.”
Man United’s win over Brighton saw them move onto 71 points for the season where they claimed third place in the table.
A rejuvenation under Michael Carrick, who is now United’s permanent manager, saw them easily secure Champions League football.
And Fernandes played a huge part in that success, scoring nine Premier League goals alongside his 21 assists.
