Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been told to leave the club and join a "team capable of winning trophies." Fernandes has won the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup since joining United from Sporting back in 2020, but the Red Devils remain a long way off challenging for the Premier League.

And three-time Premier League winner Joe Cole believes Fernandes should force through a transfer at the end of the season, particularly given the 30-year-old has been on the receiving end of some stiff criticism.

"If I’m Bruno Fernandes, I’d absolutely be looking for a move away from Manchester United," Cole told Paddy Power. "He’s the first butterfly and he’s getting all the arrows from everyone.

"He must go home at night and wonder why everyone is digging him out when he’s the only one pulling his weight in this team. There are others doing okay but he is literally dragging that club through this dire moment.

"When all is said and done and Bruno leaves United and maybe they return to the top, they’ll look back at this era and the only shining light will be Bruno Fernandes.

"He’s a fantastic footballer and you could put him into most teams, and he’d thrive, but I don’t think he’s won a league in his career and he needs to go and prove to himself that he can play in a top side because he’s run his race at Manchester United.

"He should leave that club with everyone; the owners, fans and the manager giving him his flowers because he gets all the stick. And that’s part and parcel of being a Manchester United footballer but how must he feel when he’s getting all the pelters despite being the one with the goals, assists and driving the team forwards.

"He’s a fabulous player and if I was him, I’d be looking to go and play in a team capable of winning trophies." Cole's comments come after United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe singled out Fernandes as a "fantastic footballer" that the club desperately needs to keep.

Speaking about United's recruitment struggles in recent years, Ratcliffe told the BBC :"If you look at the players we are buying this summer, that we didn't buy, we're buying Antony, we're buying Casemiro, we're buying Onana, we're buying Hojlund, we're buying Sancho.

"These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we've inherited those things and have to sort that out. For Sancho, who now plays for Chelsea and we pay half his wages, we're paying £17m to buy him in the summer.

"Some are not good enough and some probably are overpaid. But for us to mould the squad that we are fully responsible for, and accountable for, will take time. We've got this period of transformation where we move from the past to the future.

"There are some great players in the squad as we know, the captain is a fabulous footballer. We definitely need Bruno, he's a fantastic footballer."