Marcus Rashford sends message to Bruno Fernandes critics after backing teammate

United have been widely condemned following their humiliating 7-0 defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool on Sunday with Fernandes bearing the brunt of that criticism.

The Portugal international, who has regularly worn the armband this season with Harry Maguire losing his place in the side endured a particularly woeful afternoon, making a string of petulant challenges and clashing with match officials as his side sank without a trace on Merseyside.

Former United captains Gary Neville and Roy Keane did not hold back in their assessment of the midfielder’s ‘disgraceful’ conduct, with the former even suggesting Fernandes had demanded to be subbed off after falling five goals behind.

Erik ten Hag defended his skipper during Wednesday’s press conference, insisting he will remain captain when Maguire is not on the field.

Sitting alongside his manager, Rashford also underlined Fernandes’ importance, insisting his presence has helped other leaders develop in the dressing room.

‘I love playing with Bruno, as you can imagine. For a forward like me, he is the perfect player to play with,’ the United forward said.

‘He has been a good leader for us even when he has not been captain, which is always a good sign.

‘He has helped other players become better leaders and the reality of it is we can’t be a well organised team with just one leader being the captain.

‘So he has done a lot for us in terms of bringing his leadership skills in and that was from the moment he arrived. So I don’t have anything negative to say about Bruno.

‘Like the manager said, nobody is perfect. Sometimes you want to win so bad you end up doing things that are a little bit out of character.

‘But we 100 per cent support Bruno and are behind him. As a team we also have to support him because he is a fantastic player and we wouldn’t be in the position we are if he wasn’t playing games for us.’

United take on Betis in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie at Old Trafford on Thursday.

MORE : ‘He is our captain’ – Erik ten Hag defends Bruno Fernandes following criticism during Liverpool thrashing

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