Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes's X account has been hacked, the club said, after a post showed up on Sunday criticising the club's co-owners.
"let's get rid of INEOS," the post that reportedly appeared on midfield maestro Fernandes's social media account read. Owned by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos is the minority owner of the Premier League team and is in charge of football operations. British media reports said that the post was viewed more than 84,000 times before being taken down.
Later a clarification was provided from the official X handle of the club. :Bruno Fernandes’s X account has been hacked. Supporters should not engage with any of the posts or direct messages," the post from the club's official X account read.
The development came not long after a managerless Manchester United crashed out of the FA Cup with a 2-1 defeat to Brighton. There is also talks about the club selling their captain next summer in the hope of roping in younger talents.
At the end of a week that saw the storied Premier League team and 13-time FA Cup winner fire head coach Ruben Amorim, the loss at Old Trafford has likely consigned United to another trophyless season and was greeted with loud jeers from the home crowd.
Interim coach Darren Fletcher admitted the 20-time English champion was not in a good moment, but said it was too soon to write the season off with Champions League qualification still achievable.
It's probably not what fans want to hear about Manchester United because they've been winning cups and challenging for the Premier League, he said. Don't waste the season. That would be the challenge that I would set. That's the challenge that probably the players feel like they need to achieve this year.