Andy Cole, a former Manchester United striker, says Bruno Fernandes is “disrespectful” to his teammates when he throws his arms in despair while wearing the armband during matches.

Cole called the playmaker’s captaincy approach as “different” and claims to understand his thinking now that times have changed. Fernandes has been chastised for his gesticulatory style when playing against Manchester United.

He was also chastised for putting his arm against an official while captaining the team in last season’s 7-0 loss to Liverpool and for his harsh challenges near the conclusion of last month’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City.

Fernandes took over as captain from Harry Maguire over the summer, having been given the honor frequently when Maguire was benched for the majority of previous season. Many people thought Fernandes was the right option for the post at the time, while others have since questioned Erik ten Hag’s judgment.

After the derby defeat, Roy Keane said he would have stripped the Portugal star of the leadership, while Gary Neville suggested the midfielder would be better off giving up the post at the end of the season.

However, there has been some concern inside the club about a lack of other captain possibilities, with Cole among those who are concerned about the current scenario. He recently discussed his thoughts on Fernandes as captain with Betfred.

“First and foremost, captains now are different to captains in my day and they lead in a different way,” he remarked.

“How many of the captains in the Premier League today share characteristics with captains from ten or twenty years ago?” Few people do.

“There has been some discussion about Bruno Fernandes not being the right choice for captain, but if you look around the Manchester United dressing room right now, who else would you give the captaincy to?”

“There aren’t four or five standout candidates.” You might have awarded the captaincy to Jaap [Stam], Denis [Irwin], Peter [Schmeichel], Giggsy (Ryan Giggs), or Scholesy (Paul Scholes) when I was at the club.

“There were so many options back then but nowadays, players are different and lead in a different way.”

Cole commented on Fernandes’ captaincy approach, saying he can come across as disrespectful to his teammates at times. “Bruno leads in a different way, and I understand that,” he continued.

“I can also understand that people don’t want to see a captain waving his arms about in frustration, which I personally believe is disrespectful to his teammates, but at this moment in time, he’s the man and he will captain the side in a way which he believes is beneficial to himself and his teammates.”