Emmanuel Petit: Bruno Fernandes is a diva who annoys me and should not be captain of Manchester United
Emmanuel Petit has described Bruno Fernandes as “a diva” who should be Manchester United captain.
The Portuguese star is the beating heart of Erik the HagThe team has scored 79 goals and provided 67 assists in 237 appearances so far.
While his form cannot be questioned, it is his antics off the ball that have irritated Petit.
The French world champion, who played for Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona, was talking Manchester United and the calibre of players within Ten Hag's.
It was then that he gave his frank assessment of Fernandes and why he is not the right character to lead the Red Devils.
Speaking on Drive, Petit said: “I think he's a good player, but I think he's a diva.
“He acts like a diva sometimes, not like a captain; he wears the armband, but if I'm honest with you, if I'm a teammate in the dressing room and you see the way he behaves sometimes on the pitch with his arms all the time complaining, you don't want that from your captain.
“You don’t want that from your teammates and you don’t expect that from your leaders.
“I was very impressed by him during the COVID-19 pandemic without fans in the stadium because he was incredible game after game, but he signed a new contract and I also watched him with Portugal and sometimes I get angry when I see him on TV.
“I just want to go on TV and play against him as an opponent to beat him up on the field.”
Asked who he would rather see as Manchester United captain, Petit replied: “It's difficult to find because the best player so far this season is the youngest (Kobbie Mainoo), or even (Alejandro) Garnacho.
“I think Mainoo has the potential to wear the bracelet, but he is too young.”
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Alan Pardew supported Petit's opinion that Fernandes should be stripped of his captaincy.
Speaking earlier this month, he told talkSPORT: “You've got your captain there, you've got a technical captain, when you've got a manager as captain, I think it's always dangerous because they're going to have bad games.
“I actually think it would be better for him as a footballer to take it off.
“I think it might free him up a little bit, allow him to have a little more freedom of mind.
“He's probably worried about the back four, the wingers. You don't really know how to deal with that.”
-I don't know, I think it's an obstacle for him.
Fernandes and Manchester United are next in action on Saturday lunchtime when they take on Southampton exclusively on talkSPORT.
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