Manchester United players have been branded 'selfish' by Wayne Rooney, with Bruno Fernandes singled out for deciding to play the blame game over Michael Carrick
Wayne Rooney speaking
Wayne Rooney has called out Bruno Fernandes and the Manchester United players
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Wayne Rooney has accused Bruno Fernandes of heaping pressure on Michael Carrick to avoid shouldering it himself.
The former Manchester United captain has likened their present squad to babies, branding them "selfish" and claiming they care solely about themselves. Fernandes publicly questioned Carrick and the club's coaching team regarding their tactical setup against Como in the Champions League.
Lisandro Martinez was the first to voice concerns following defeat to Atletico Madrid the previous week. The club's current skipper, however, is bearing the brunt of Rooney's criticism following their 4-1 defeat in midweek over how he decided to handle himself afterwards.
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Speaking on The United Stand, Rooney has said: "When Martinez came out, I said this is an absolute nightmare because it will rip the dressing room apart; that was the start. We've seen it now with Bruno, and you're going to see it with more players because they don't want to take responsibility.
"You can say whether Bruno was right or wrong in what he said, but you have to take responsibility on the pitch; you have to take responsibility as a group of players.
"These players, they're selfish. They don't care about their team-mates, the manager, the staff, or the fans.
Bruno Fernandes looks on during a Manchester United match in the Champions League
Bruno Fernandes is taking a battering from former Manchester United players for his comments about Michael Carrick(Image: DeFodi Images, DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
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"They care about themselves. If they're not getting what's right for them, they're like babies and just throw their toys out of the pram and go and deflect the blame onto anyone else but themselves."
Rooney understandably focused on Fernandes following his public criticism of Carrick, saying: "He is putting pressure on someone else because he doesn't want to face it.
"If he looks at himself in the mirror, if Martinez and all of them looked at themselves in the mirror, they'll find what's looking back at them is them, and that's not good enough; they need to show more."
Fernandes told TNT Sports: "It's a decision from the staff not to press man-to-man and sometimes leave space behind and try to get the ball, wait for them, but sometimes when you give space to these teams they get confidence."
He added: "That's on the manager and staff to see, not me."
Carrick responded: "We actually half-pressed man-to-man the second half and then conceded a goal from that. And there's a little bit of whatever system you play, whatever tactics you play; if you don't run, and you don't run forward, and you don't run back, you ain't going to win."