Man United captain Bruno Fernandes responds to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s harsh criticism

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was criticised by Sir Jim Ratcliffe in his latest book before his 25 per cent acquisition of the club.

Ratcliffe, 71, and his Ineos team will be taking charge of the sporting direction of the Old Trafford club when the Premier League approve the deal in the coming weeks.

The agreement was announced on Christmas Eve, and the British billionaire is expected to have his feet under the table within four to six weeks, meaning that January transfer window influence is unlikely to be strong.

However, they will be looking to shake things up amid a torrid time for the club since Sir Alex Ferguson retired and Ratcliffe’s opinions on the attitude of Bruno Fernandes have cropped up in his book ‘Grit, Rigour & Humour – The INEOS Story’ shortly after the embarrassing 7-0 loss against Liverpool last term.

In the opening page of the book, which was published by Penguin this summer, Ratcliffe recalled his time travelling over the world and touched on a trip to the Cook Islands.

The 71-year-old explained how he witnessed a rugby player being carted off in the back of a pick-up truck after suffering a broken leg.

Admiring the unknown player’s bravery, the Ineos chief would remark that his behaviour had been “a far cry from Bruno Fernandes clutching his untouched face in the Liverpool debacle recently.”

However, following the latest victory for United against Aston Villa, where Erik ten Hag’s side came from two goals behind to win 3-2, Fernandes has explained that he is focused on what happens on the pitch.

The no.8 does accept that the news of the takeover situation has been difficult to avoid in the last year but stresses that he will focus on what he’s able to control.

“Not much, honestly,” replied Bruno when asked what the squad have made of Ineos’ acquisition. “Because it’s not going to change anything we do on the pitch. Apart from if they come in and bring some new players that can make a difference for us, OK, apart from that it has to be us on the pitch and make that difference that we need.

“Obviously, social media, newspapers, we see everything, it’s impossible these days not to see it. We know what the club is going through at the minute, but it’s not going to change anything that we do on the pitch. We focus on ourselves and the team and what we can control, which is yourself and our performance.”