Manchester United’s season went from bad to worse after being eliminated from the FA Cup by Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this Sunday, Jan. 11. And, the Red Devils supporters’ day deteriorated further when Bruno Fernandes’ X account was hacked hours later.
Manchester United Faces Embarrassment After X Gaffe
Earlier this Sunday, Manchester United suffered a 2-1 defeat against Brighton in the FA Cup third round at Old Trafford. Brajan Gruda helped the visitors take the lead in the 12th minute before ex-Red Devils striker Danny Welbeck scored in the 64th minute of the clash.
Red Devils summer signing Benjamin Sesko pulled one back with a header from a corner in the 85th minute of the cup tie. However, after Shea Lacey was sent off in the 89th minute, the hosts failed to grab a late equaliser and bowed out of the domestic competition.
Mere hours after his side’s loss, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes lost control of his X profile, which has over 4.5 million followers. The hacker posted several offensive messages on the social media platform, prompting the Red Devils to issue a statement.
The hacker, in one of the compromised posts, suggested that INEOS, the company co-owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe through Manchester United, should sell the club. The post read, “Let’s get rid of INEOS.”
In another post, the hacker made a suggestive remark about Portugal and Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo, who made 346 total appearances for Manchester United. The post read, “I can’t lie, (Cristiano Ronaldo) is packing.”
After the Red Devils’ intervened with a statement, the hacker replied with a joke on X. The comment read, “F*** no way, I’ll spread the word.” Another post, which quote-tweeted the aforesaid reply, read, “Let’s ratio Manchester United.”
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The hacker also published an image of the scorecard for the Old Trafford outfit’s 7-0 Premier League loss to rivals Liverpool in March 2023. Moreover, the hacker also made explicit posts about women’s soccer star Alisha Lehmann and social media personality KSI.
Fernandes, who has since regained control of his X profile, played the whole 90 minutes of his side’s 2-1 cup loss to Brighton. The 31-year-old provided the assist for Sesko’s goal.
The Portugal international, who recently recovered from a hamstring injury, has started 19 of his 20 appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils this season. He has scored five goals and contributed nine assists in 1673 minutes, according to Transfermarkt.
