Steven Gerrard has made a claim about Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes that he admits Gary Neville "might not agree with."
The Liverpool legend was asked by Neville to name the modern-day Premier League player he would most like to play alongside, and although Gerrard firstly selected a big name from his former club, he also picked out Fernandes, who recently signed a new lucrative contract with United but ex-Red Devils captain Neville has frequently criticised this season.
On Gary Neville's The Overlap YouTube channel, the current Aston Villa manager replied: " Mohamed Salah. I love Bruno Fernandes, you might not agree with that but I really like him. Kevin de Bruyne for sure; 100 per cent I think he's one of the best in the world right now. Defensive wise, I think Virgil [Van Dijk] is just out of this world."
Gerrard's praise comes after Fernandes scored twice against his side in a dramatic 2-2 draw at Villa Park back in January. Neville, on the other hand, has hit out at the United star's behaviour on multiple occasions, most notably name-checking Fernandes when he labelled the Red Devils "a bunch of whingebags."
Taking aim at the midfielder and teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, Neville fumed on Sky Sports following their 1-1 draw at Newcastle : "They're the two senior players in that dressing room. It's devastating for the younger players if the two best players in the team are looking at the others as if they're not good enough.
" [Edinson] Cavani takes that away. He doesn't wilt in the presence of Ronaldo or Fernandes. He stands up to them and helps the younger players. They need to get rid of that whinging attitude, they really do. You've got to go over and clap the fans at the end of the game.I don't care how you've played, I don't care what the result is - get over to them fans and clap them. You have to do that.
Join the debate! Is Fernandes the best midfielder in the Premier League? Give us your pick here.
"It's annoyed me for about two months. It's devastating when the best players in the team are giving that look and that body language. They have to be a father, a grandparent. I think there's something wrong in there. You can't run off the pitch, and Bruno is whinging all the time. Don't run off at the end of the game, I'm not having that."
However, the Red Devils defender did offer Fernandes some praise ahead of March's Manchester derby. Asked which United player would be able to get into Manchester City 's team, Neville told LADbible TV : "Bruno is the only one that I think, over the last 12 to 18 months, could...
"But [Kevin] De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, [Riyad] Mahrez, [Phil] Foden and [Raheem] Sterling. I can't put Bruno in ahead of Bernardo Silva at the moment, or De Bruyne. I can't. It's a sad indictment really."
