Keane hails Fernandes as world's best passer weeks after public spat with United captain

Roy Keane lavished praise on Bruno Fernandes at half-time of Portugal’s World Cup group-stage victory over Uzbekistan, declaring the Manchester United captain ‘by far the best player in the world’ at threading passes in transition — a striking turnaround from the pundit’s recent public criticism of the midfielder.

Fernandes earned the compliment by sliding a perfectly weighted ball through the Uzbekistan defence to allow Cristiano Ronaldo to finish into the far corner and make it 3-0. Roberto Martinez’s side had already led 2-0 through goals from Ronaldo and Nuno Mendes before the Al-Nassr forward added the third.

Reacting on ITV, Keane was unequivocal: “He is by far the best player in the world at that!”

The praise carries added weight given the pair’s recent falling-out. Keane had claimed Fernandes said in an interview that he chose to pass rather than shoot while chasing the Premier League assist record. Fernandes publicly corrected the record on The Diary of a CEO podcast, stating his actual remarks were the opposite, and said he wanted to speak directly with Keane about the misrepresentation.

The two subsequently spoke, with Keane confirming on the Stick to Football podcast that the matter had been resolved. He joked that Fernandes had apologised before clarifying the reality: “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.”

Keane described the exchange as a “mature conversation” and said he felt better for having it. “He’s obviously a big player for United, I’m an ex-United player, and I think the idea of communicating and having a proper conversation — I really enjoyed it,” he said. “Nice chat about a bit of everything, and I felt better afterwards.”

Fernandes’s assist against Uzbekistan was a reminder of the quality that prompted Keane’s original — if briefly contested — admiration, and the pundit showed little hesitation in saying so publicly once the two had cleared the air.