‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ and Bruno Fernandes outburst – 24 hours that rocked Man Utd and Ineos

Robin Bairner

• 17 Dec 2025 09:15 CST
• 4 min read

Nieuws

Manchester United owners Ineos are in a period of reckoning as the January transfer window approaches, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe facing his toughest period since taking over the sporting side of the club in February 2024.

A summer investment of €250 million has allowed head coach Ruben Amorim to get a better grip of United on the field, but they are by no means where they would want to be at this stage of the Premier League season.

Monday’s crazy 4-4 draw against Bournemouth highlighted deficiencies in the team that have not been addressed, but this has been overshadowed by events following a match that will likely go down as the top-flight’s best of the season.

Mainoo's brother makes power move

Firstly, Kobbie Mainoo’s half-brother took to Instagram. In a move reminiscent of Alejandro Garnacho’s sibling, who openly criticised the coach after he was dropped for the Europa League final, he posted an image of himself wearing a ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ T-shirt.

On the park, meanwhile, the 20-year-old midfielder completed 29 minutes in what was his third-longest Premier League runout of the season.

Mainoo’s future remains mired in doubt. He clearly wants out, but Amorim and the Man Utd hierarchy cannot allow him to leave, given a lack of depth in the midfield.

Bruno unpunished for controversial interview

Mainoo is, Amorim insists, the backup for captain Bruno Fernandes.

But the man with the armband has also been busy causing chaos at Carrington. In a bombshell interview on Portuguese television, he went public with his belief that United wanted him out in the summer.

“I could have left in the last transfer window, I would have earned much more money, I was going to leave a season ago – I won’t say where – but I would have won many trophies that season,” he said.

“I decided to stay, also because of family reasons, but because I genuinely love the club. The conversation with the manager also made me stay. But, from the club’s side, I felt a bit like: ‘If you leave, it’s not so bad for us.’

“It hurts me a bit. More than hurting, it makes me sad because I’m a player who has nothing to criticise. I’m always available, I always play, good or bad. I give my all. Then, you see things around you, players who don’t value the club as much and don’t defend the club as much… that makes you sad.”

The repercussions for Fernandes for his ill-judged interview do not appear to be serious.

“This has not gone down very well at all. The owners, the footballing top brass do not know where this has come from. They really have pushed back at this sort of thing in recent months and are far from happy with how this has come about,” an unnamed source told TeamTalk.

Despite this internal anger, all accounts indicate Fernandes will go unpunished. He will remain captain and he will not be sold.

Time for Ratcliffe to get a grip

All of this leaves Ineos and Ratcliffe looking weak. Indiscretions from highly visible players are going unchecked in a move that is a new threat to the position of both Amorim and the club.

United need only look at the situation that Xabi Alonso faces at Real Madrid to appreciate how difficult this can make a manager’s life. Alonso, though, has the relatively luxurious position of having too many good players, whereas the discipline problems at Old Trafford are caused by having too far.

It’s a small throwback to the toxic culture that used to plague United. Ineos need to stamp it out before it becomes endemic again.

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