Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes has reignited his long-running verbal battle with Roy Keane, delivering a sharp rebuttal to the former midfielder’s recent criticism.

Following United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest earlier this month, Keane accused Fernandes of being more focused on equalling the Premier League assist record than on helping his team.

In that match, Fernandes set up Bryan Mbeumo’s goal, which allowed him to match the Premier League assist record jointly held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. However, Fernandes could have surpassed the record earlier had Mbeumo and other attackers taken advantage of several clear-cut chances he created during the game.

Mbeumo later acknowledged that he felt he had, to some extent, let Fernandes down by missing those chances.

Keane, though, took a very different stance, launching a scathing assessment of the Portuguese international. The former United captain accused Fernandes of turning matches into a “circus act,” adding that the midfielder’s antics made him both “rage” and “cringe.”

Speaking to Sky Sports at the time, Fernandes firmly rejected the notion that he prioritises personal achievements over team success.

Now, the 31-year-old has issued an even stronger response, directly accusing Keane of lying.

Appearing on The Diary of A CEO podcast, Fernandes said, “I don’t mind criticism. I always take criticism from everyone and never reply to anyone whatsoever. People have an opinion — they think it’s good, bad, or whatever.”

He went on to add, “What I don’t like is when people lie about things, and in this case, what you said about Roy Keane — basically, what he said is a lie.”

The 2025/26 Premier League Player of the Season continued, “Luckily for me, everything is on record. Imagine if it wasn’t, then people would think Bruno is always the guy going just for the assist.”

“I even asked Ole for his number to text him, to have a word with him, to say ‘I don’t mind the criticism, but I don’t like when people lie about the things that I say,’ because this goes beyond what I consider acceptable.”

Fernandes’s assist for Patrick Forgu’s opener against Brighton made him the sole holder of the Premier League assist record. He later scored his ninth goal of the season, taking his total goal contributions to 30 in all competitions.