'A donkey' — Roy Keane fires back at Bruno Fernandes

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has fired back with current club captain Bruno Fernandes, taking to his Instagram story to post an image of a braying donkey accompanied by the stinging caption: "Too much attention makes a donkey think he's a lion." 

Keane’s post is a direct retort which followed an appearance by Fernandes on The Diary of a CEO podcast. During the interview, the 31-year-old Portuguese international fired back at the Irishman, openly accusing him of spreading blatant falsehoods regarding his post-match comments. 

Addressing Keane directly, Fernandes stated: "What I don't like is when people lie about things and [in] this case that you said about Roy Keane basically what he said is a lie... I accept his criticism... But what I don't like is that he puts words in my mouth that have not been said. That's the only thing I don't like."

The apparent hostility between the captains of two different Manchester United generations originates from Fernandes' historic individual success during a completely trophyless campaign for the Red Devils. 

After Fernandes equalled the long-standing record of 20 assists in a single Premier League season (previously shared by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne) against Nottingham Forest, Keane claimed the midfielder was prioritising an individual record over team success. Speaking on The Overlap podcast, Keane misquoted Fernandes, incorrectly claiming: 

"He said: 'A few times, I probably should have shot but I made them passes.' Wow. How can your mindset of 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." 

Fernandes, who ultimately received the Premier League Playmaker of the Season award after claiming the outright record with 21 assists during a 3-0 victory over Brighton on Sunday, May 24, was actually on record saying the exact opposite: 

"There were probably moments today when I should have passed instead of shot. I'm very happy for the assist, but more than that, I'm happy for the win and to finish the season on a high."