Ruben Amorim has made his feelings clear on Man Utd star labelled 'worst team-mate'

Ruben Amorim didn't hold back when criticising Bruno Fernandes following his red card in Manchester United's Boxing Day loss to Wolves. The defeat marked United's third consecutive loss across all competitions and their fourth in five Premier League matches, leaving them languishing in 14th place.

Matheus Cunha opened the scoring for Wolves directly from a corner on 58 minutes, and Hwang Hee-chan sealed the victory with a goal in second half stoppage time. However, Fernandes' sending-off proved to be the turning point.

The United captain was dismissed just two minutes into the second half, with the score still level at 0-0, after earning a second yellow card for a reckless challenge on Nelson Semedo's ankle. Fernandes had no right to complain, though the same couldn't be said for Amorim who effectively held the midfielder responsible for the defeat.

"It's so tough to win games in this league with 11 men," he said. "With 10 men, it's more difficult. We have to focus on that."

He also questioned Fernandes' decision-making, suggesting there was no need for him to have made the challenge on Semedo. "I think he cannot go to the ball," Amorim said. "He's trying to reach the ball and some guys are not even looking at the ball but I don't want to focus on that."

Amazingly, Fernandes has now been sent off three times this season (albeit with one against Spurs being rescinded), a statistic that highlights the problems he's currently facing. Discipline has become a significant concern for the midfielder. Although he avoided any red cards last season, he still led United in yellow cards with a total of 12.

The 2022/23 campaign followed a similar pattern, with Fernandes again picking up 12 bookings, just one fewer than Casemiro, the club's worst offender. His attacking output has also declined, as the former Sporting star has struggled to match the remarkable stats from his first 18 months at Old Trafford, where he tallied 40 goals and 28 assists.

Beyond his numbers, Fernandes faces growing scrutiny over his overall impact and behaviour during matches. Back in 2022, Aston Villa legend and talkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor criticised Fernandes as a poor team-mate, pointing to his frequent complaining and lackluster work ethic. Reports at the time even suggested that several of his United team-mates felt the same way.

"For me, Fernandes, since he's been in the Premier League, yes, he's had great stats, goalscoring and assists, but he looks like the worst team-mate," Agbonlahor said. "Every time a player gives it away, every time he gives it away, he throws his arms up at his team-mates, he throws his arms up at the bench."

"I've played with players like him, you'd be fuming at him. He'll press now and then. If that was Paul Pogba, they would be slaughtering Pogba in the media. Fernandes gets away with murder. Did you see Fernandes do anything? It's easy to say Maguire, Ronaldo, Rashford, Sancho.

"Fernandes, for me, I can't remember the last time he had a decent game. He's always the one that's throwing his arms up in the air. Even when he gives it away. He could pass it to you but pass it out of play and he'd blame you. That's the sort of player Fernandes is. The worst possible team-mate."

This season, Fernandes has recorded six goals and 10 assists, but questions persist about his effectiveness as United’s captain. Following his red card during the team's 3-0 loss to Tottenham in October, Fernandes acknowledged that he had let his team-mates down.

"I just wanted to come and talk and be myself because my team-mates deserve that for what they have done in the game playing with one man less particularly as I was the man sent off, the one that let them down," he said after the game. "No one likes to be sent off. It's not a good feeling. We end up conceding another two goals."

Just four days later, Fernandes was sent off again during United's Europa League match against Porto. At the time, his side were trailing 3-2 and desperately chasing an equaliser, which Harry Maguire eventually secured in stoppage time, sparing Fernandes' blushes.

The Portugal international was appointed captain in 2023 after former manager Erik ten Hag controversially stripped Maguire of the role, which he had held since 2020. While no obvious candidate stands out to replace Fernandes, his recurring discipline issues and inconsistent performances might lead Amorim to follow in Ten Hag's footsteps and reconsider the team's leadership.