Nicky Butt criticises Bruno Fernandes comments

In a feud between respective Manchester United legends Roy Keane and Bruno Fernandes, the latest ex-player has had his say.

Nicky Butt, a player who spent 12 years at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson, has made his stance clear on the situation, after Fernandes claimed on the Diary of a CEO Podcast that Keane lied about him, before the Irishman took to social media to respond with a cryptic message.

Butt, who made 387 appearances and scored 26 goals at United, told Paddy Power: “Whenever Roy says something, it’s going to go to the front pages. Bruno’s the Player of the Year, he’s responded and the media have rubbed their hands, ‘this is brilliant, it’s Man United, it’s Roy Keane, Bruno Fernandes, let’s just blow this all up.

“It seems like Roy was misunderstood. I think it’s just got all bigged up. But I think the crazy thing is, why are players going back at pundits? It’s mad. I just don’t get it. What’s the gain? Whether it’s Roy Keane, Alan Shearer, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Paul Scholes, whoever it is, I don’t see why you go back at them.

“Pundits are always going to get asked questions and if you sit there and go, ‘everything’s great’, you just end up falling, you’re never going to be employed again. You’ve got to give an opinion, and I think Roy’s very honest, but he is controversial.”

Nicky Butt, who regularly offers his thoughts on football, especially Manchester United, feels the two should sort out the situation between them. “If you see him in the street, and if he lives locally, Roy lives five minutes away, Bruno lives five minutes away, you see them all the time.

“If you really want to see someone, none of this bulls***, come round to my house- you can walk past him in the village every day.”

The feud has sparked controversy online, and between Fernandes and Keane personally. The Irishman cryptically responded to Fernandes’ liar claims by posting on an Instagram story, “Too much attention makes a donkey think he’s a lion.”

Now Butt has entered the ring; it’s a situation that more and more ex-players are going to be asked about.

It’s certainly a shame that two legends of the club cannot agree, especially after such a good season for Manchester United, but Keane feels United should be doing more before celebrating.

Speaking on the Stick To Football podcast and sparking this debate, Keane said, “How can your mindset as a footballer be going into a match to be about an individual record?

“He won’t be winning trophies, not with that mindset of the team.”

Keane won 17 major trophies in his time at Manchester United. While he’s certainly able to hold others to a high standard, questioning the intentions of the Red Devils’ best player after a record-breaking season is questionable.

If other players at the football club are held to the same pedigree, maybe Manchester United will begin to become the title-winning force they once so consistently were.