Man United star Bruno Fernandes explains arguments with Harry Maguire and Tyrell Malacia
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“That’s all a lie!” Bruno Fernandes insists he never angrily waves his arms at teammates as the Man United star explains heated exchanges on the pitch with Harry Maguire and Tyrell Malacia
- Bruno Fernandes was criticized for his negative body language last season
- It came as Man United struggled under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick
- But the Portuguese star insists he was never negative towards his teammates
- He has explained how he told Tyrell Malacia to spread the game at Leicester
- And he apologized to Harry Maguire after telling him not to yell at him
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Bruno Fernandes has explained his heated discussions on the pitch with Harry Maguire and Tyrell Malacia, while insisting that his body language is never negative on the pitch.
The Portuguese star often cut a sulky figure during Manchester United’s very disappointing 2021-22 season, which saw Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked and handed over to interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
But Fernandes, who has returned to something approaching his best form under Erik ten Hag this season, says this was never the case.
Bruno Fernandes has spoken out about perceptions he showed negative body language
Fernandes passes instructions to United’s new boy Tyrell Malacia in the match against Leicester
He told The Athletic: “What people say about how I wave my arms at my teammates. That never happened. That is completely a lie.
“I can use my arms to ask for the ball and tell them something about where the ball should go. But I never talk to them in a bad way.
“Yeah, I can yell at someone if they don’t pass the ball when he has to, or he doesn’t make the decision in the best way, or he goes two-on-one and doesn’t pass the ball to his teammate. Then it’s normal to be angry with him.’
Fernandes cited two examples of heated conversations during United matches. One was with left-back Tyrell Malacia, a summer arrival at Old Trafford, in the 1-0 win over Leicester earlier this month.
The playmaker told Malacia to keep his head up and look for options for passing as he was on the other side of the field in the clearing.
The Portuguese playmaker has started rediscovering his best form this season
“He was pretty mad at me for talking to him. But he didn’t understand what I said,’ Fernandes said.
Fernandes went to Malacia at the end of the match to reassure him that he wasn’t yelling ‘in a bad way’ and only asked him to change the game.
Another occasion was during the quarter-final of the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League against Copenhagen, when Maguire yelled at Fernandes for losing the ball when he tried to tackle an opponent instead of clearing the ball.
“I lost the ball and he yelled at me, ‘Bruno, hold the ball!’ I was tired and said, ‘Don’t scream!’ Fernandes recalled.
“In the first half of extra time I went up to him and said ‘sorry for talking back’.”
It came after a scorching 2020-21 campaign in which United struggled under several managers
