Manchester United have endless problems these days, and the leadership skills of Bruno Fernandes could be one of those.
The 30-year-old has been serving the club since 2020 and was named club captain in the summer of 2023 by Erik ten Hag as a successor for Harry Maguire who was enduring a career low at the time.
But while the fans and pundits mostly agree over the Portuguese’s technical skills, as he remains one of the most skilful players at the club, his suitability for the skipper’s role remains a topic of great debate.
Based on his on-field antics, Fernandes isn’t exactly the most charismatic personality or the most inspiring leader, and his demeanour during his side’s defeat at Tottenham will hardly win him any favours with the naysayers.
Manchester Evening News journalist Tyrone Marshall shared an episode he noticed between Bruno and his teammate Matthijs de Ligt which ensued straight Spurs’ winner.
Bruno Fernandes blamed Matthijs de Ligt for Spurs winner
Lucas Bergvall’s low drive produced a save from Andre Onana, but the Man Utd goalkeeper couldn’t parry the ball away, at least not enough to prevent a damning rebound from James Maddison. So while most fingers were pointed towards the Cameroonian custodian, Fernandes headed straight towards De Ligt to give him an earful.
Perhaps some would feel the captain has a point since the Dutch defender was slow to react to the play, but many observers would agree that his antics are hardly encouraging for his teammates, especially at a time of bleak crisis.
Nevertheless, those hoping to see the armband changing hands in the near future will likely be disappointed, as a recent report named Fernandes as one of only two players who share a close bond with Ruben Amorim, with the other unsurprisingly being fellow Portuguese player Diogo Dalot.
