Bruno insists Maguire is 'really happy' for him after taking Man United armband

Bruno Fernandes says that Harry Maguire has been fully supportive of him after he took the Man United captaincy off the defender.

Fernandes has been named as the new captain of Manchester United, the club have confirmed.

Fernandes wore the armband in the prolonged absence of Harry Maguire last season, and Maguire revealed at the weekend that he has been stripped of the captaincy.

However, Fernandes claims it has not caused a rift between the two players.

‘He gave me congratulations and he said he is really happy for me,’ said the former Sporting midfielder of Maguire’s reaction to the armband switch.

‘I understand his position is not the best at the moment. It has to be difficult for him but he came and said congratulations to me and I am happy about that because we have always had a good relationship.’

The 28-year-old also revealed how Ten Hag let the squad know who would be taking the armband, holding a team meeting to announce the news.

‘He spoke in front of the whole group,’ said Fernandes of Ten Hag. ‘He wanted to do it in front of everyone.

‘Everyone already knew about the situation with H [Maguire] but no one knew who would be the next captain so he did it in a team meeting with everyone together because it’s something we have to do more often, to keep the things inside and give the compliments inside to ourselves.

‘Obviously it’s a big honour and it’s something that I didn’t dream about. It’s over your dreams but it’s something for me and my family, because they have been with me all this time, and it’s a proud moment for everyone.’

Fernandes has brought a talismanic presence to United since he arrived at the club in January 2020, even though he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

The intensity that makes him such a fierce competitor and strong leader pushes the boundaries. His critics don’t like the histrionics and haranguing of referees. The 28-year-old admits that he can even get under his own teammates’ skin at times.

But Ten Hag loves him and Fernandes isn’t about to change. ‘I think I have to be the same because that is what has brought me to be the captain at this moment, and that is what the manager has decided because he likes the way I am and the way I act and train and the way I play,’ added the Portugal star.

‘So I have to keep doing the same things. You have to improve stuff in your game day by day, but I am happy with what I have been doing and I have to keep that standard.’

Fernandes likes to speak his mind and he said in the wake of David de Gea’s rather messy departure from United this month that the long-serving Spanish goalkeeper deserved a better send-off.

‘I spoke all the time with David,’ said Fernandes. ‘We have a great relationship. He is a player that has been at the club for 12 years and it’s always better when you say goodbye to the fans in the stadium.

‘He has been the biggest servant for the club in the last period, so I think it would be nice for him to get that because he has been here in the good moments, winning the Premier League, and in some really bad moments for the club but he never left and always stayed here and gave his best for the club.’

De Gea’s replacement is Andre Onana, a sweeper keeper and big character who touched down here on Friday after completing a £47.1million move from Inter Milan. The Cameroonian is United’s second signing of the summer after Mason Mount moved from Chelsea in a £60m deal, but the glaring omission is a striker as talks continue over Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund.