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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes said it is not the players’ fault for the contracts signed off by the club as he hit back at claims by co-owner Jim Ratcliffe that some are “overpaid”. Fernandes was singled out for praise by Ratcliffe, who also said some of the United squad were “not good enough” in a range of media interviews this week. The United captain led by example by scoring a hat-trick in Thursday’s 4-1 win over Real Sociedad to book a place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
He then defended his teammates after Ratcliffe singled out the signings of Casemiro, Rasmus Hojlund and Andre Onana as examples of expensive deals made before he arrived at the club, which United are still paying for. “We can’t relax at this club. You know that there’s a big standard, a big attention that you get from the media, from everywhere,” said Fernandes.
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Constant criticism irks
“It’s not nice to hear certain things. I don’t think that any player likes to hear criticism or things that are talked about to you, that you’re not good enough or you’re overpaid or whatever. Everyone has their own contract. The club agrees to do the contracts when you come here or at the time you do a new contract or whatever and it’s about yourself, proving that you can be important for the club,” added Fernandes.
Fernandes celebrates his hat-trick after scoring the third goal in the second half. Pics/AFP, Getty Images
The Europa League is United’s only hope of salvaging a miserable season so far. Ruben Amorim’s men sit 13th in the Premier League and are out of both domestic cup competitions. Fernandes revealed he had the chance to leave Old Trafford last summer but reiterated his desire to win more trophies as captain.
“I sat with the club because I had an offer to leave. I asked if they still see me as part of the future of the club. The club was very clear that they thought I would be a big part of this rebuild,” said Fernandes, who leads United’s scoring charts this season with 15 goals.
Emphatic performance
On Thursday, a 10th-minute penalty gave the visitors the lead at Old Trafford before Fernandes converted from the penalty spot in the 16th and 50th minute. He netted a third three minutes from time after which Diogo Dalot rubber-stamped an emphatic victory in injury-time. United meet Lyon in the next round.
Spurs beat Alkmaar 3-2 on aggregate
Tottenham beat AZ Alkmaar 3-2 on aggregate to set up a quarter-final meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt. In the last-16 second-leg, goals in either half from Wilson Odobert and James Maddison earned hosts Spurs a 3-1 win. Odobert scored twice (26th min, 74th min) with Maddison (48th) netting one in between. Peer Koopmeiners pulled one back for Alkmaar.
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