Roy Keane makes dramatic U-turn on Bruno Fernandes after public spat | OneFootball

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has seemingly backtracked on his Bruno Fernandes stance following his brilliant performance for Portugal against Uzbekistan.

Fernandes shines

Fernandes was brilliant as he helped Portugal to a dominant 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan in their second game of the 2026 World Cup.

He set up Cristiano Ronaldo’s second goal in fine style. Fernandes ran the length of the pitch in a surging counter-attack. He weighed his options carefully before delivering a perfectly-weighed pass to Ronaldo, who applied the finishing touch.

Fernandes and his teammates have booked their spot in the next round of the competition after successfully shaking off a slow start against DR Congo.

Spat with Keane

Earlier this month, Keane revealed that he had a “lovely chat” with Fernandes after a public falling out between the pair over the Premier League assist record.

It was Keane who ignited the row, suggesting that Fernandes was preoccupied with his assist numbers in the victory over Nottingham Forest. The former United captain went further, accusing Fernandes of acknowledging that he deliberately chose to pass rather than go for goal in order to break the record.

Keane claimed that he was left “raging” and “cringing” at what he saw during the contest.

This sparked a reaction from Fernandes, who hit back at the United icon for his incorrect statement. Fernandes also disclosed that he had made an effort to secure Keane’s private phone number to personally express his dissatisfaction with how he was portrayed.

The pair talked about it as Keane himself detailed. The 54-year-old said on the Stick to Football podcast, “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.”

“And we had a nice, mature conversation. It was lovely. A lovely chat. I like having boundaries with players.”

While Keane previously criticised Fernandes’ tendency to create for those around him, he has since changed his tune and has now praised that very attribute.

U-turn

Speaking on ITV, Keane hailed Fernandes’ ability to pick out the right pass in transition. He even went as far as branding him the best in the world at it.

Keane remarked about Fernandes, “He is by far the best player in the world at that!”

Fernandes and his countrymen are next in action in the early hours of Sunday morning when they face Colombia.

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