Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believed Bruno Fernandes was too emotional to be the club's captain during his time in charge of Manchester United.

Michael Carrick said "there are different ways to lead" as he defended Bruno Fernandes' style of captaining Manchester United.

Fernandes' role as captain has been called into question this week for the first time since he was given the armband after he expressed concerns with Carrick's tactics in an interview following the Como defeat.

Carrick dropped Fernandes to face Bournemouth last weekend and left him on the bench as he made five substitutions. Since then, the pair have held clear-the-air talks at Carrington to put the episode behind them.

Fernandes was appointed as United captain by Erik ten Hag in the summer of 2023. The Dutchman stripped the armband from Harry Maguire, who was selected by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to be the club's captain.

Solskjaer later explained that he chose Maguire as captain because Fernandes was "too passionate at times and loses a bit of control."

United take on Chelsea this weekend and Carrick defended Fernandes during his pre-match press conference, in which he was also reminded of Solskjaer's opinion of the Portugal international

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"I don't think it's about comparing opinions to others," said Carrick. "He's the captain of our football club. There are different personalities, different characteristics, different ways to lead.

"It all comes down to what happens on the football pitch and whether you win or not in the end. All the questions get asked. I understand why you're asking them now. He cares deeply about this football club and about the team and he's desperate to do well. We'll lead that together."

Fernandes' comments after Como could have upset the dressing room. "It's important, of course it is. Both ways, I think it's important that we have that connection," said Carrick on the squad dynamic.

"That's pretty obvious to say for any team. We have got that, I have to say we have got that. At the moment it's easy to question a lot of things, and I totally accept why and what it looks like, but I have absolutely no issue with that regard.

"We need to play better and we need to show certain things better. The connection with us is as strong as ever."

Club figures noted Fernandes as being back to his "best version" this week after a challenging week on and off the pitch.

Fernandes' family home was burgled while United played Como in Italy and United have provided support to the midfielder and his family.