Roy Keane and Bruno Fernandes Resolve Public Spat Over Assist Record

Roy Keane says he and Bruno Fernandes have settled their brief public spat over comments about the Premier League assist record after what he described as a “lovely chat” between the pair.

The former Manchester United captain had claimed on The Overlap last month that Fernandes once admitted he chose to pass rather than shoot while chasing the assist record. Fernandes later pushed back on that version of events, pointing out on The Diary of a CEO that his original remarks actually said the opposite and accusing Keane of telling a “lie”.

The disagreement quickly became a talking point. One is United’s current captain and creative heartbeat, the other its most famously unforgiving former skipper. It had all the ingredients for a long-running feud.

Instead, it lasted a matter of weeks.

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Keane explained that Fernandes contacted him directly to clear the air and the two spoke at length.

“He apologised, I forgave him, no problem, but no it was a good chat,” Keane said, with a hint of his familiar dry humour.

He then detailed how the conversation came about.

“There was a reaction after what we said on the podcast a few weeks ago and he reached out to me and wanted a chat… I called him and we had a lovely chat.

“A lovely chat about a bit of everything, but it was nice because when we do podcasts or games, sometimes you think you say something afterwards and you communicate something and it doesn’t come across properly, so people get upset and he said he wanted to talk to me.

“And we had a nice, mature conversation. It was lovely. A lovely chat.”

Keane stressed that he prefers to keep a certain distance from current professionals, even those at his former club, and doesn’t want to become a regular sounding board for players or agents. That made Fernandes’ decision to reach out, and Keane’s choice to respond, stand out.

“I like having boundaries with players. I don’t want to be speaking to players every few weeks or their agents, I don’t want to go down that road, but every now and then a player might reach out, so I think it was important I spoke to him.

“There has been lots going on and lots reported. He’s obviously a big player for United, I’m an ex-United player and I think the idea of this communicating and having a proper conversation, I really enjoyed it. Hopefully I think he did as well. Nice chat about a bit of everything and I felt better afterwards.”

A minor row over an assist record, then, ends not with another volley from the studio or a pointed response on a rival podcast, but with two Manchester United captains talking it through and moving on.