Roy Keane and Bruno Fernandes Resolve Feud After Assist Record Disagreement

Roy Keane and Bruno Fernandes have quietly drawn a line under their recent spat over the Manchester United captain’s Premier League assist record – with the former skipper revealing the pair shared what he called a “lovely chat”.

The disagreement started when Keane, speaking on The Overlap last month, claimed Fernandes had once admitted he chose to pass rather than shoot as he chased the assist record. The problem? Fernandes had actually said the opposite in the original interview.

The current United captain pushed back, accusing Keane of telling a “lie” during an appearance on The Diary of a CEO, and made it clear he wanted a conversation with the 54-year-old to straighten things out.

That call has now happened.

Speaking on Wednesday’s Stick to Football podcast, Keane explained that Fernandes reached out and the two men settled the matter directly.

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

The former midfielder, never shy of a blunt opinion, sounded almost reflective as he described the exchange.

“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 to keep a certain distance from current players, making this kind of direct contact the exception rather than the rule.

“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 Fernandes, the storm had built quickly. He is Manchester United’s on-field leader, Keane is one of the club’s most influential former captains, and any friction between the two inevitably draws attention. Keane acknowledged that wider context.

“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.”

No fireworks. No lingering feud. Just two Manchester United captains from different eras, clearing the air and moving on.