Bruno Fernandes insists that Harry Maguire is ‘really happy’ for him after taking the Manchester United armband from the defender

Bruno Fernandes says Harry Maguire has fully supported him after taking the Man United captaincy from the defender.

Fernandes has been appointed as the new Manchester United captain, the club has confirmed.

Fernandes wore the armband during Harry Maguire’s extended absence last season, with Maguire revealing over the weekend that he has been stripped of the captain’s armband.

However, Fernandes claims it did not cause a rift between the two players.

“He congratulated me and he said he is very happy for me,” the former Sporting midfielder said of Maguire’s reaction to the armband change.

“I understand that his position is not the best at the moment. It must be hard for him, but he came to congratulate me and I’m glad because we’ve always had a good relationship.’

The 28-year-old also revealed how Ten Hag informed the squad who would take over the armband, as he held a team meeting to announce the news.

‘He spoke for the whole group,’ says Fernandes van Ten Hag. “He wanted to do it in front of everyone.

“Everyone already knew about the situation with H [Maguire] but no one knew who the next captain would be, so he did it in a team meeting with everyone together because it’s something we should do more often, to keep things inside and give the compliments inside to ourselves.

Maguire

“Of course it’s a great honor and it’s something I never dreamed of. It’s beyond your dreams, but it’s something for me and my family, because they’ve been with me all this time, and it’s a proud moment for everyone.”

Fernandes has been talismanizing United since arriving at the club in January 2020, even if he’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

The intensity that makes him such a fierce competitor and strong leader pushes the boundaries. His critics don’t like the referees’ histrionics and tirades. The 28-year-old admits he can sometimes even get into the shoes of his own teammates.

But Ten Hag loves him and Fernandes will not change. “I think I have to be the same because that’s what led me to be the captain at the moment, and that’s what the manager decided because he likes the way I am and the way I act, train and play,” added the Portuguese star.

So I have to keep doing the same things. You have to improve things in your game every day, but I’m happy with what I’ve done and I have to keep that level.’

Ten Hag informed Maguire on his first day back that he has lost the bracelet

Fernandes is happy to speak his mind and he said in the wake of David de Gea’s rather messy departure from United this month that the long-serving Spanish goalkeeper deserved a better farewell.

“I talked to David all the time,” Fernandes said. ‘We have a great relationship. He is a player who has been with the club for 12 years and it is always better when you say goodbye to the fans in the stadium.

“He’s been the club’s greatest servant over the last period, so I think it would be nice for him to get that because he’s been here in the good times, winning the Premier League, and in some really bad moments for the club, but he’s never left and has always stayed here and done his best for the club.”

De Gea’s replacement is Andre Onana, a sweeper keeper and big character who landed here on Friday after completing a £47.1 million move from Inter Milan. The Cameroonian is United’s second signing this summer after Mason Mount joined Chelsea for £60m, but the glaring omission is a striker as talks over Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund continue.