Roy Keane and Bruno Fernandes Resolve Public Spat

Roy Keane says he and Bruno Fernandes have cleared the air after their public spat over comments about the Manchester United captain’s pursuit of the Premier League assist record.

The former United skipper had claimed on The Overlap last month that Fernandes once admitted choosing to pass rather than shoot as he chased the assists milestone. Fernandes later pointed out that he had actually said the opposite in the original interview and accused Keane of telling a “lie” during an appearance on The Diary of a CEO.

What followed was a brief but sharp flashpoint between United’s past and present leaders. Fernandes made it clear he wanted a conversation with Keane to address the misquote. Keane, speaking on Wednesday’s Stick to Football podcast, confirmed that call finally happened.

“He apologised, I forgave him, no problem, but no it was a good chat,” Keane said, half-joking but keen to stress the tone of the exchange.

The Irishman explained that Fernandes had reached out after the reaction to the earlier podcast episode, prompting Keane to pick up the phone.

“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,” Keane said. “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 also underlined that he prefers a certain distance from current players, even as his punditry keeps him close to the game.

“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.”

For all the noise that swirls around Manchester United, this was a rare example of two strong personalities stepping away from the cameras to sort out a dispute directly.

“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.”

In a season where United’s on-pitch conversations are endlessly dissected, the most telling discussion for their captain might just have taken place on a quiet phone line with a club legend.