Sir Jim Ratcliffe criticises Bruno Fernandes in new book

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been criticised by incoming club shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe in a new book.

Ratcliffe is set to be onboarded at United in the near future after agreeing to purchase a 25% stake in the club, and he is set to be given control of footballing operations.

On the eve of his arrival at Old Trafford, Ratcliffe has released a book charting the history of INEOS, the chemicals company he founded 25 years ago.

During the opening to Grit, Rigour & Humour: the Ineos Story, Ratcliffe recalls how during a trip to the Pacific, he "felt the ground tremble every time a Cook Islander smashed into another in a local rugby match". Ratcliffe noted how one player sustained a broken leg, but his reaction was "a far cry from Bruno Fernandes clutching his untouched face in the Liverpool debacle recently".

The incident Ratcliffe is referring to is Fernandes' antics during United's horrendous 7-0 defeat away at rivals Liverpool in which he went to ground claiming to have been struck by a flailing elbow, though replays showed he had in fact taken a minor blow to the chest.

Fernandes drew plenty of criticism not just for his performance in that loss but for shoving an assistant referee in the game's latter stages.

United will be without Fernandes for their trip to Anfield this weekend as he picked up his fifth yellow card of the Premier League season in Saturday's 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Bournemouth. With the Red Devils already three goals down, Fernandes was booked for dissent knowing full well he was at risk of a suspension.

Before that trip to Merseyside, United take on Bayern Munich in their final Champions League group stage fixture. Erik ten Hag's side must win and hope the other Group A fixture between Kobenhavn and Galatasaray ends in a draw if they are to reach the knockout stages.

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