Ian Wright believes that some of Bruno Fernandes' bad habits have started to creep back into his game since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fernandes has borne the brunt of the criticism after Manchester United were thrashed 7-0 by their bitter rivals Liverpool in Sunday. The 28-year-old vice-captain has been slammed for his negative body language and his petulant behaviour was branded "embarrassing" by Old Trafford favourite Gary Neville.
The Portuguese playmaker's attitude has been questioned in the past, with talkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor claiming the midfielder looked like "the worst teammate" after he spent the majority of Manchester United's heavy 4-0 defeat against Brentford earlier in the campaign complaining.
To his credit, Fernandes form and influence has grown significantly since then and he has shown glimpses of the form that made him an instant hit with the Old Trafford faithful. In recent months, Fernandes has worn the captain's armband with Harry Maguire out of favour.
But Wright, who was less than enthused with Fernandes' Anfield antics, has criticised the former Sporting Lisbon ace. And he believes that Fernandes' on-field behaviour was far better when Ronaldo was at the club. Speaking to Premier League Productions, Wright said: "I think his [Fernandes'] histrionics have kicked on a bit more since Ronaldo is not in the dressing room. Maybe he would look across and see Ronaldo and not act as openly as that.
"He seemed to quieten himself down when Ronaldo wasn’t there and now Ronaldo’s gone he feels he’s the boss of that dressing room. I look at that dressing room and try to think what player would walk up to him to eyeball him to put him in his place.
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"It looks to me like that captain needs that. There’s a lot of problems to me when you look at that performance from him. I don’t know who is going to bring that guy in line."
And Wright went one further by claiming that Fernandes' behaviour may not align with Erik ten Hag's long-term vision. He added: "When you look at the capitulation of the team it’s a reflection of the captain. When I saw Bajcetic go past him and he stopped that was the last straw because when you look at his histrionics he’s someone who wouldn’t last [in the dressing rooms he played in].
"The captain is a special person in there. When you watch someone like Roy Keane, a performance like that must hurt him deeply with what he’s had to go through to get to that accolade, to see a Man Utd captain do that playing as if he’s got the world on his shoulders and not inspiring his teammates to try and salvage something.
"To see the captain like that, he cannot be… the way Ten Hag has setting that team up he doesn’t fit in the mould of Ten Hag and how he wants his team to go forward."
