Fred hits out at 'fake news' of Man Utd dressing room divide
By Tom Gott
Manchester United midfielder Fred has hit back at claims that the team's dressing room is divided following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Numerous reports have surfaced suggesting Ronaldo has found himself embroiled in a war over the captaincy at Old Trafford, with Harry Maguire reported to be standing up to the Portugal striker with the rest of the English contingency in the dressing room.
One of those England internationals, Marcus Rashford, has already dismissed the claims and accused reporters of making things up, and Fred has now voiced his support for his teammates as well.
"Our dressing room is really good," he told Sky Sports. "There's a lot of fake news and a lot of rumours surrounding it but it's great. We work together and we all have the same goals and objectives.
"It's not easy for the manager to keep everyone happy because everyone wants to play and we have so many good players. But we understand each other. We have developed harmony in the dressing room and I think that's the most important thing we have. We have maximum respect for each other in the dressing room."
His words come a month after Fred took to Twitter to deny rumours that he wanted to leave United after a bust-up with interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
"A lot of people say a lot of things and at times people believe fake news," Fred said. "It wasn't the first time that fake things had been said about me.
"We had been going through a difficult period at the club at the time and these rumours came out about me wanting to leave and being unhappy. They were untrue, so I felt it was time to speak up.
"I needed to tell the fans I was 100% committed to the club and that I had no intention of leaving. It was the right time to speak, I think. I don't like talking much on social media but on that occasion I felt I had to show the fans my desire to stay at the club."
Finally, on Rangnick, he added: "Ralf just wants me to do my best. He knows the energy I have but also the quality I have.
"Obviously, he has a different way of working from the previous manager, but we have to adapt to that. We have to start again. That's not easy, but we need to give everything we have in training.
"We have had good results and not-so-good results in the last few games but we're really happy with the win against Brighton and we now need to keep improving. We've got an intense month with a lot of important games, so we need to continue giving our best."