Keane's Cryptic Donkey Post Lands After Fernandes Accuses Legend of Putting Words in His Mouth

The row between Roy Keane and Bruno Fernandes has taken another turn, with the former Manchester United skipper hitting back at accusations of misquotation before Keane responded with a cryptic social media post.

Fernandes has been United's standout performer this campaign, steering Michael Carrick's outfit to third place in the Premier League. After Ruben Amorim initially deployed him in a deeper midfield berth, Carrick restored him to his familiar number 10 position upon taking the reins in January—a decision that proved inspired. The Portuguese playmaker thrived in his natural role, racking up an extraordinary 21 assists across 35 league matches, alongside nine goals. His performances earned him both the Premier League Player of the Season and FWA Footballer of the Year gongs.

Keane, however, took umbrage at the fuss surrounding Fernandes' assist record. Speaking on The Overlap, the pundit suggested the midfielder had prioritised personal milestones over collective success, claiming Fernandes had said he could have shot instead of passing to boost his tally. Keane declared such an outlook incompatible with trophy-winning mentality.

The comments stemmed from United's May 17 encounter with Forest at Old Trafford. What Fernandes actually stated, per BBC Sport, was rather different: he acknowledged moments when passing might have been wiser than shooting, but stressed his satisfaction came primarily from the victory and finishing strong.

When quizzed about Keane's remarks during an interview with The Diary of a CEO, Fernandes pushed back firmly. The 31-year-old said he's never minded criticism from any quarter, but drew a line at what he perceived as fabrication. "What I don't like is when people lie about things," he stated, insisting everything he'd said remained on record.

Fernandes emphasised his respect for Keane's United legacy and even revealed he'd sought Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's number to contact the former captain directly about the matter. Yet he remained adamant: he welcomes genuine critique but won't tolerate having words attributed to him that he never spoke. The midfielder added that achieving an assist record of that magnitude represents something few players accomplish, and he's never lost sight of his obligation to pursue silverware.

Hours after Fernandes aired these grievances, Keane posted an image of a braying donkey on Instagram accompanied by a single caption: "Too much attention makes a donkey think he's a lion."