Michael Carrick and Bruno Fernandes had a rare disagreement over Manchester United after being asked about the Red Devils’ exhausting 24-day waiting period.
Manchester United were forced to wait between their 2-2 draw against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium in March and their 2-1 home defeat to Leeds United in April.
Leeds United visited Old Trafford on Monday evening and United were left licking their wounds after being reduced to 10 men in the Premier League clash.
Michael Carrick oversaw his first home defeat since his January appointment, while Bruno Fernandes chalked up another Premier League assist on the night.
READ MORE: ‘No energy, no quality’: Roy Keane instantly identifies why Man Utd couldn’t recover from slow Leeds start
Michael Carrick instructs Bruno Fernandes during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Manchester United at St James' Park in 2026 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
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Michael Carrick and Bruno Fernandes could not see eye to eye over Man Utd’s extended March international break
Ahead of Manchester United’s encounter with Leeds United, the Red Devils had been at a Dublin training camp for four days last week in the post-March break.
Man Utd went through an ‘intense period’ of training during their stay at Carton House in County Kildare, but it was also an opportunity to ‘kill time’ as well.
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The Red Devils allowed first-team United players who went away on international duty to link up in one place at their camp after the end of the March break.
Speaking after Leeds’ 2-1 win over 10-man Man Utd, Michael Carrick was asked if the 24-day wait that the Red Devils had experienced had impacted his side.
“Doesn’t make any difference, to be honest,’ he told Sky Sports, as per BBC Sport.
Bruno Fernandes, on the other hand, did not overlook what the Red Devils’ absence from first-team football meant since Man Utd’s 2-2 encounter against Bournemouth.
“It is what it is,” he told Sky Sports as well.
“We are out of the FA Cup, so we have to blame ourselves [for being] out of the game for so long.
“We had to prepare ourselves in the best way. We did, but it wasn’t enough to win the game.”
READ MORE: Gary Neville deeply critical of Michael Carrick’s risky tactical inaction during Man Utd defeat to Leeds
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Michael Carrick in suit for Manchester United
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Bruno Fernandes’ assessment of Man Utd’s 24-day hurdle is so much more based than Michael Carrick’s verdict
Training camp or not, the trip to the Republic of Ireland for Man Utd showed the deep cracks within the Red Devils’ 2025-26 campaign at Old Trafford.
The 40-match season that the Red Devils have had has been as exhausting for United fans as it has for the players because of the lack of consistent football.
United’s schedule has been erratic at the best of times and Fernandes is 100 per cent right about where the blame should be placed on the waiting period.
Not only did the FA Cup offer some chance of fighting for silverware, but it was also important — on an equal front — for squad rotation and playing opportunities.
Carrick might not think the extended break that United have experienced was a major problem, but the proof was in the pudding with Monday night’s result.
Man Utd’s top-three challenge in the Premier League under interim boss Carrick is all to play for now after the setback against Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
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