Former English footballer Gary Neville has taken a swipe at Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes for apologizing after missing a penalty.
The Portuguese star player missed a penalty shootout during United’s match against Aston Villa. This handed Villa a clean 1-0 win over United at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes. [Mirror UK]
“Nobody is more frustrated and disappointed than me for missing the penalty and the consequent defeat,” stated the Portuguese.
He added: “I’ve always assumed my responsibilities and I’ve always embraced them under pressure in moments like this. Today, I failed. But I took a step forward and faced the challenge with the same ambition and responsibility as when, on the many other occasions, the ball ended up in the net.
“Criticism and contrasting opinions are a big part of football. I’ve learned to live with it, even using them to drive me on, and I consider it all a very important part of my commitment to never stop trying to improve and to become the best player I can possibly be, for me and the team.”
However, Neville is of the opinion that a footballer who apologizes to his fans after a bad move embarrasses himself.
“It’s [players apologising for missed penalties] embarrassing,” he wrote on his social media handles.
Neville, a former United player who retired in 2011 and ventured into punditry before becoming a coach for Valencia called for the sacking of Fernandes’ PR team.
Gary Neville. [TEAMtalk]
United rallied behind Fernandes even as he took bullets from several quarters for missing the penalty.
Among them is Cristiano Ronaldo who said that every competition has a winner and a loser. And the Red Devils’ face-off with Aston Villa was exactly that.
“This is only the beginning, but in a competition as strong as the Premier League, every point counts! We must react immediately, get back on our feet and show our true strength,” Ronaldo stated.
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