Roy Keane has hailed Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes as the world's finest at delivering perfect passes in transition, putting their recent spat to bed. The praise came after Fernandes set up Cristiano Ronaldo to score for Portugal against Uzbekistan in a World Cup match.
Keane's U-turn on Fernandes
Portugal, managed by Roberto Martinez, were already 2-0 ahead with goals from Ronaldo and Nuno Mendes when Fernandes threaded the ball through defensive lines, enabling Ronaldo to finish clinically into the far corner. Responding at half-time on ITV, Keane said of Fernandes: "He is by far the best player in the world at that!"
Keane's admiration follows his revelation earlier this month that he had a 'lovely chat' with Fernandes after a misunderstanding over the Premier League assist record. Keane had suggested Fernandes stated in an interview that he opted to pass rather than shoot during his chase of the record, but Fernandes' actual words were the reverse.
Resolution of the Spat
Fernandes pointed out the inaccuracy during an appearance on The Diary of a CEO podcast, expressing a wish to discuss Keane's misunderstood remarks. A conversation ensued, and Keane, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, confirmed they had resolved the matter.
Keane initially joked: "He apologised, I forgave him, no problem, but no, it was a good chat." He added: "No, 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."
Mature Conversation
Keane continued: "And we had a nice, mature conversation. It was lovely. A lovely chat. 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."
