Souness Goes In Hard On Bruno Fernandes' Captaincy Credentials

Fernandes took the Manchester United captaincy from Harry Maguire last summer but the Red Devils finished in eighth position in the Premier League and crashed out of the Champions League at the group stages, although they won the FA Cup against Manchester City.

The Portugal international has come in for criticism from some circles for his trademark strops on the field and there have been calls for him to be stripped off the captaincy.

Souness believes Fernandes is not fit for the Manchester United captaincy as he addressed leadership issues in football.

Speaking on William Hill's Three Up Front podcast Souness said: 'When you look at leaders in the modern game, one example is at Manchester United which is one of the biggest institutions in world football.'

'The club captain is Bruno Fernandes. When they were 3-0 down against Liverpool a couple of seasons ago, he just threw the towel in… he's the captain! If anything, he should still be contributing, running around with enthusiasm and helping his teammates.

'I don't think Fernandes can change that aspect of himself – it's part of him. When he's shrugging his shoulders and throwing his arms around, that's just him.'

He added: 'I think leaders in the modern game tend to hide. They don't want to put themselves out there, be held accountable, or stand up and take the blame. The most recent example was at the Euros.

'When England were having a tough time with media it was (Jude) Bellingham – one of the youngest members of the group – who was up there talking to them on behalf of the team. He should've been one of the last ones to go up because it should've been the more senior players.'