Roy Keane Called Bruno Fernandes a ‘Circus Act.’ Then He Called Him the Best in the World.

Roy Keane and Bruno Fernandes had a public spat last month. Now they’re practically best friends. That’s how fast things move in the world of Manchester United.

It started after United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest in May, when Fernandes delivered a post-match interview about his 20th assist of the season. Keane, unprompted, claimed the midfielder said something like, ‘I probably should have shot but I made them passes.’ Except that’s not what happened. Fernandes’ actual quote was about regretting shots he should have passed. Keane put words in his mouth. Fernandes called him out for lying. United fans loved it.

The Irishman didn’t stop there. He told The Overlap that watching Fernandes left him ‘cringing’ and ‘raging.’ He called the whole assist-record chase a ‘circus act.’ For a few weeks, it looked like another ex-United legend versus current player beef that would never die.

Then came a phone call and a World Cup warm-up

Keane revealed a ‘lovely chat’ with Fernandes cleared the air. And this week, something weird happened. Keane started praising him. Like, really praising him.

Portugal smashed Uzbekistan 5-0 in Dallas — Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice, Rafael Leao added one — and Fernandes picked out Ronaldo with a ridiculous through ball for the second goal. On The Overlap, Gary Neville asked Keane about his earlier claim that Fernandes is the ‘best in the world’ at launching counter-attacks. Keane doubled down.

‘Without a shadow of doubt,’ Keane said. ’99 times out of 100, he will pick the right pass, to the right player, with the right weight. Bruno, in that position, is unbelievable.’

Ian Wright backed him up, calling Fernandes ‘brilliant’ at picking runners in transition. ‘There is loads of pluses to his passes,’ Keane added. ‘Bruno needs runners. When he has people running in behind, he will pick you out.’

For a guy who spent a month calling Fernandes a walking circus, Keane sure changed his tune fast. Maybe that phone call actually worked. Or maybe Keane just needed to see the guy play for Portugal instead of a United team that can’t finish a fast break to save its life.

Fernandes is still chasing the Premier League assist record shared by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne. He’s got one more season to break it. And now, at least for the moment, he’s got Roy Keane back on his side.