Bruno Fernandes says “a lot of lies” have been reported about his relationship with Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick in recent weeks.
Speaking after United’s 3-2 win over Roma on Tuesday, it was the first time the 32-year-old had addressed the media since being dropped to the bench after publicly criticising Carrick’s tactics in the wake of their 4-1 loss at Como.
Restored to the team for the Premier League defeat by Chelsea, captain Fernandes converted a 58th-minute penalty against Roma to spark an improbable second-half comeback from 2-0 down.
“It’s been tough, there’s been a lot of speculation in the media,” Fernandes told Amazon Prime.
“A lot of lies around many things that have happened between me and the manager, that we have cleared the air, then after that the manager took the decision to put me on the bench because I’m not performing. That’s fair.
“Everyone thought that was a punishment for the words that I had. And, if it was, it was right. The manager is the one who makes the decisions.
“It doesn’t change the belief I have of the manager and the staff and every player in this club. It doesn’t change my aim to win every game that I have ahead of me.”
Victory against Roma ended a run of nine games without a win, easing some of the pressure on Carrick after a challenging period.
But when asked if the result would save his job, Fernandes told Amazon Prime: “We don’t need to save anyone’s job.”
He added: “The club needed that win, the players needed that win. We have been working so hard to get out of this situation all together.”
Former Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said on BBC Radio 5 Live he liked Fernandes’ comments and that he hoped “they can draw a line under all this public stuff and they can get back to winning games”.
“In Bruno Fernandes’ defence is that I’ve been in football a long time and what’s reported in the media is a fraction of the truth usually,” said Schmeichel.
“The amount of times I saw something written about the clubs I was playing in that couldn’t be further from the truth was absolutely staggering.
“I hope for Manchester United and Michael Carrick they can draw a line under all this public stuff and they can get back to winning games like they did today.”