Rio Ferdinand rushed to the defence of Bruno Fernandes after Roy Keane took out his frustrations on the Manchester United captain, with Ferdinand criticising Keane's own past leadership
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Updated 14:30, 18 Mar 2025
Rio Ferdinand has been critical of Roy Keane's "poisonous tongue"(Image: Rio Ferdinand Presents.)
Rio Ferdinand defended Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes from Roy Keane’s criticism by recalling an incident regarding Keane’s “poisonous tongue”.
Keane in recent years has consistently targeted Fernandes with criticism, owing in large part to United’s poor results and performances. Those woeful Red Devil displays have left the side in 13th place in the Premier League, despite skipper Fernandes registering eight goals and nine assists this season.
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And legendary former club captain Keane did not let the Portuguese off the hook last month after a 3-2 win over relegation-threatened Ipswich Town, delivering a heated and expletive-ridden critique of his lack of leadership in United’s current situation. The fiery Irishman clashed with fellow pundit Ian Wright, who took issue with Keane’s brutal words on the Stick To Football podcast.
Keane fumed: "People pretend to be closing people down. Talent is not enough. Bruno is a talented player, but talent is not enough. It's not enough, Wrighty. Bruno is not a fighter. You want someone going, 'lads, are you with me? Are you with me?'"
"Maybe he's not that captain Roy," argued Wright. "But what he's doing is saving you, playing that pass." Keane fiercely disagreed: "What's he saving? What's he saving, 2-2 at Everton?"
The debate caught the attention of one of Keane’s former team-mates, Ferdinand, who discussed his verbal tirade with another Red Devils legend in Andy Cole on an episode of the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast. Ferdinand began by asking Cole whether he agreed with Keane’s comments.
Roy Keane slammed Bruno Fernandes' leadership(Image: @TheOverlap/Youtube)
United's Treble-winning hero Cole said: “Different generations, like I said. The way Roy used to lead back then, if Roy was playing now, he couldn’t lead his team.”
Ferdinand, who spent three seasons playing alongside Keane, also sided with Fernandes by agreeing that Keane’s style of leadership would not be effective in the modern game. And he went on to recall a savage incident involving the combative midfielder two decades ago during training.
Ferdinand said: “I think players today would just shut down with someone like Roy. I saw Roy, even with players that weren’t in the first team, almost end their careers before it started with some of the things he said. His tongue was poisonous at times.
“You’d have to step back and laugh, by yourself, and then come out and say ‘come on man, that’s a bit out of order’. I remember Michael Stewart, a young kid at the time, a nice guy, talented Scottish footballer, everyone was saying he’ll be the next one that comes through.
Bruno Fernandes gestures to the assistant referee during the Emirates FA Cup third round match at the Emirates Stadium
Bruno Fernandes is a very different kind of leader to Roy Keane
“I remember Roy said to him one day: ‘In a couple years, do you know where you’re gonna be? You’re gonna be a pub team player’. He’s looking at Roy Keane, his hero probably, and Roy has just destroyed him. I saw the life draining out of his body.”
Keane is widely regarded as United’s greatest captain, having won four Premier League title, two FA Cups and the Champions League as skipper.
Fernandes, meanwhile, has been United’s best performer in their worst period this century, with his attitude on the pitch sometimes coming under fire. His performances of late, though, have been outstanding, including a goal and two assists in Sunday's 3-0 Premier League win at Leicester.
After the game, he reacted to Keane's recent criticism and responded. "It's the way he thinks about me as a player, as a captain. I have to respect that," Fernandes told Sky Sports. "I try to do the things in my own way to be not the best captain but person and team-mate as I can. I do it every day. I try to be an example in everything I do in the training sessions, on the pitch.
"But obviously, not everyone will like [it], not everyone will think in the same way, and I respect every opinion of everyone. I have to accept there is a lot of margin for improvement in my game and my leadership."