Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has spoken about a troubled 2021/22 season in which former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked and caretaker boss Ralf Rangnick sacked at the end of the season.
Fernandes, who described Solskjaer as an incredible person who cared for everyone, insisted that the Norwegian was not solely to blame for the team’s misfortunes last season.
The midfield maestro in an interview with The Athletic emphasized that the players must also be responsible for the team’s decline that left the club languishing in sixth position in the table at the end of the season.
Fernandes’ infamous gesture at Vicarage Road in which he signaled for fans to boo the players instead of then-manager Solskjaer after a 4-1 loss at the hands of Watford helped earn him great respect.
Now he has come out and called that day probably the worst day in the life of the former manager.
About the incident, the Portuguese revealed: “I didn’t like it [booing the manager] because I felt, ‘Why not do that with us (players)?’ We were the ones who went out on the pitch and lost the game”.
“At that moment, I felt like someone needed to step up or protect him. It was not a good period and it was not always Ole who had the problem, because he did great things before him”.
The 28-year-old told Adam Crafton that he was still in contact with the 49-year-old United legend and that they exchange messages regularly.
Solskjaer’s interim replacement, Ralf Rangnick, also ended up failing in his goal at the Theater of Dreams. And Fernandes attributed it to the fact that the German had ideas that did not suit everyone at the club.
He also commented that the team had extremely low confidence at the time after a string of losses.
“It has nothing to do with Ralf. She did her best. the team had been built with Ole and his idea, and then a new manager comes in with (his own idea of him). That could probably be the difference at the club because every manager who has been here has had different ideas, so they bring in different players.”
The Red Devils’ problems, by the player’s own admission, led him to question his future with the 20-time English champions.
He wanted assurances about the next manager and his role within the team, something he has received with Erik ten Hag, who has even made him captain on select occasions.
The Portuguese international confirmed to Crafton that his fears were allayed after personal talks with club bosses led by Darren Fletcher, who promised him that the club will be contending for top honors in three to four years’ time.
United’s No. 8 signed an extension with the club in a great show of confidence and has started the season quite brightly under United’s new Dutch boss.
