Bruno Fernandes has been told by former Manchester United striker Andy Cole he is not being a team player when he gesticulates at his teammates.
In fact, Cole believes Fernandes is being disrespectful to his teammates when he throws his arms in frustration while wearing the captain’s armband during matches.
Cole described Fernandes’ style of captaincy as being “different” and says he understands his mentality given that times have moved on. The Portugal international was given the role of captaincy from Harry Maguire over the summer. Many agreed with the decision at the time, but it has since been questioned by a number of pundits.
Cole, for one, is uneasy with the current situation. He shared his verdict on Fernandes being captain when recently speaking to Betfred, as cited by the Manchester Evening News.
“First and foremost, captains now are different to captains in my day and they lead in a different way,” Cole said.
“If you look at all the captains in the Premier League, how many of them share characteristics with captains from ten or twenty years ago? Not many do.
“There’s talk about Bruno Fernandes not being the right choice for captain, but if you look around the Manchester United dressing room currently, then who else would you give the captaincy to instead?
“There’s not four or five standout contenders. When I was at the club, you could have possibly given the captaincy to Jaap [Stam], Denis [Irwin], Peter [Schmeichel], Giggsy (Ryan Giggs) or Scholesy (Paul Scholes).
“There were so many options back then but nowadays, players are different and lead in a different way.”
Cole also believes Fernandes crosses a line as captain and is guilty of disrespecting his teammates. He added: “Bruno leads in a different way and I understand it.
“I can also understand that people don’t want to see a captain waving his arms about in frustration, which I personally believe is disrespectful to his teammates, but at this moment in time, he’s the man and he will captain the side in a way which he believes is beneficial to himself and his teammates.”
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