Sir Jim Ratcliffe suggested some Man Utd players are overpaid in an interview this week but Bruno Fernandes has defended the squad.
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Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes has defended his United teammates after critical comments from Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Bruno Fernandes has hit back at Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe after the billionaire labelled some players "overpaid" and "not good enough" in an interview earlier this week.
Ratcliffe had namechecked Antony, Casemiro, Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund and Jadon Sancho as players United were still paying transfer fee instalments for this summer.
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Asked if he was suggesting those players weren't good enough for the club, he said: "Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid, but for us to mould the squad that we are fully responsible for, and accountable for, will take time."
Fernandes wasn't criticised by Ratcliffe and he continued his own outstanding individual season with a hat-trick in the 4-1 win against Real Sociedad on Thursday, before the captain leapt to the defence of his teammates.
The 30-year-old used the same "overpaid" and "not good enough" phrases that Ratcliffe had used, and while Fernandes insisted every player had to continue to prove themselves at the club, he also made the point that United had agreed to every contract handed out to squad members.
"We need to prove ourselves every day in training, every day that we have a game. We can’t relax at this club," he said.
"You know that there's a big standard, a big attention that you get from the media, from everywhere. You need to realise that sometimes you need to put your focus on your game, trying to improve yourself.
"It's not nice to hear certain things, obviously. I don't think that any player likes to hear criticism or things that are talked about to you, that you're not good enough or you're overpaid or whatever.
"Everyone has their own contract. The club agrees to do the contracts at the time you come here or at the time you do a new contract or whatever and it's about yourself proving that you can be important for the club."
During the answer about players being overpaid or not good enough, Ratcliffe had gone on to praise the club captain.
"We've got this period of transformation where we move from the past to the future," he said.
"There are some great players in the squad, as we know, the captain is a fabulous footballer. We definitely need Bruno, he's a fantastic footballer."