"He's going to get booked, whinge, kick someone" - Gary Neville says it's easy to predict Manchester United superstar during tough games
Manchester United icon Gary Neville has criticized Bruno Fernandes for going overboard in his theatrics on the pitch. The Englishman insists that the Portuguese midfielder enters into arguments with the referee and engages in altercations on the pitch to an extent that is predictable.
Following Manchester United's brutal 3-0 defeat to Manchester City over the weekend, Neville said on his podcast (via Sky Sports):
"Bruno Fernandes, the captain, is walking around and you know what he's going to do in the last 10 minutes. It's almost like you can read it like a book: he's going to get booked, whinge, kick someone. It's all for show, there's nothing there about it."
However, he also acknowledged Fernandes' talent and labeled him as Manchester United's best player. Neville added:
"He's a massively talented player, he's Manchester United's best player with goals and assists written all over him. And he deserves to play in a great team and a fantastic team."
Manchester City ran amok at Old Trafford on Sunday (29 October) as Erling Haaland grabbed a brace and Phil Foden netted once. Fernandes picked up a yellow card in stoppage time after a lunging tackle on Jeremy Doku.
The Portugal international has been known to cause chaos on the pitch. He has already picked up four yellow cards in the Premier League and one in the UEFA Champions League this season.
During the 2022/23 campaign, Fernandes was booked twelve times across all competitions.
"I don't blame these players" - Gary Neville says Class of 92 squad would fail in current Manchester United environment
Neville believes the iconic Manchester United team of the 90s that included himself, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, amongst others, would not succeed at Old Trafford today.
The pundit believes the morale is extremely low at the club, and the environment does not accommodate success at the moment. He claims that the players are not to blame for the team's woes this season.
Neville said:
"These are not bad lads in this dressing room, but there is a real feeling of low [morale] at the club. If we [the Class of 92] had come into the club at this moment in time, in this environment, we wouldn't be successful.
"As talented as the group I came through with - Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes - if they came into this environment today, they would be set up for failure. So I don't blame these players anymore."
United have had a poor start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign. The Red Devils are currently eighth in the league standings after five wins and losses each, eight points adrift of the top four.
It remains to be seen whether ten Hag can turn things around this season at Old Trafford.