Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes hits back at criticism over on-field demeanour: ‘What you see on the pitch is…’

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes has hit back at critics who have called for the star midfielder to be demoted as the club’s captain, especially for letting his emotion get the better of him from time to time. The Portuguese attacking midfielder, who has been part of the ‘Red Devils’ since January 2020 and has been their designated captain since 2023, stated that while he has no issues with fan criticism, he doesn’t hold himself back on the field and continues to wear his heart on his sleeve.

“Everything I include myself in I just like to go with myself at full. I don’t like doing things at half. Football was the main thing and I always wanted to go full for it,” the 31-year-old told BBC Sport.

“What you see on the pitch is what Bruno is like—the passion I put into everything. I am much more calm away from the pitch—I don’t have the emotions on the skin as much as I have on the pitch. But still very passionate in everything I do,” he added.

‘It would be so boring’

Fernandes, however, stated that it was important to have contrasting opinions in society, which according to him is what makes “life so good”.

“People have an opinion about me and I can’t change that. That’s the way people want to judge you about what they see on the pitch or the television or interviews. I can’t change that.

“They have the freedom to think the way they want about me as I have the freedom to think about them. I don’t judge people until I know them. They can have an opinion about me, that’s fine—we all have an opinion and that’s why life is so good and so different. If we all think the same way it would be so boring,” Fernandes continued.

Fernandes has been among United’s most consistent performers in the last five years even as the ‘Red Devils’ have undergone a steep decline during this period, finishing as low as 15th on the Premier League table last season. The midfielder had finished as their leading goal-scorer (28) in the 2020-21 season – his first full season at Old Trafford – and has scored a total of 99 goals in 294 appearances for the club.

He was linked to a move to Saudi Arabia earlier this summer, with Al-Hilal reportedly willing to pay him a handsome fee that would have made him among the highest-paid footballers in the world. And while United have made it clear that he is not for sale, with Fernandes himself reportedly telling the club he wants to stay, a move to the Saudi Pro League remains on the table, possibly in the January transfer window.