Keane labels Portugal star Felix 'imposter' after Euro 2020 elimination - Goal.com

Ryan Tolmich

Last Updated2 hours ago

00:00Jun 28, 2021

Getty/Goal

The former Man Utd star took aim at the Atletico Madrid man as well as team-mate Bruno Fernandes

Former Manchester United star Roy Keane has taken aim at both Joao Felix and Bruno Fernandes, labelling the Atletico Madrid man an "imposter" after Portugal's loss to Belgium on Sunday.

Felix, Fernandes and Portugal were undone by a Thorgan Hazard wondergoal as the defending champions were bounced from the Euros with a 1-0 defeat.

The Atletico Madrid forward came off the bench to make his first appearance at this summer's tournament, but his second-half cameo was apparently enough to earn some major criticism for Keane after Felix missed a late chance to equalise.

Editors' Picks

What was said?

"I get really annoyed with it, particularly when they’re quality players," Keane said on ITV. "There’s no excuse for it, seeing players leaning back and just missing the target, at least test the goalkeeper, these are top players no getting away from that.

"Felix, when he came on, that guy’s an imposter, he’s an imposter. He comes on, your country needs you…hit the target! What was he? £100m? If I was [Cristiano] Ronaldo I’d certainly be going after him in the dressing room. Shocking.

"Felix and Fernandes were driving me crazy. They’ve no one to blame but themselves, they fought like champions to be fair, but Portugal just short."

Keane unhappy with Fernandes' body language

The Irishman also took aim at Fernandes before the game even kicked off, with the Man Utd star left on the bench once again for Portugal.

Fernandes was also benched for Portugal's group stage finale and, moments before Sunday's game got going, Keane revealed his disappointment with the midfielder.

“No, [I’m] not really [surprised] because of the other options," he said of Fernandes' benching before kickoff. "He’s not really been in top form in the tournament. His body language is not great and he’s not performed.

Article continues below

“The beauty of it for the manager is you like at the Portuguese players and the options he’s got. The plus for Portugal so far is they’ve scored seven goals but they’ve conceded six.

“The worry for Portugal with the way they play, and particularly for the attacking players, if this turns into a shoot out I think they’ll suffer today. But no surprise with the changes he’s made.”