Bruno Fernandes was placed 27th in the 2026 Ballon d’Or rankings on Monday night, a reminder that individual recognition can arrive at an awkward time. The Manchester United captain learned of his position the day after being left on the bench for the defeat to Bournemouth, a result that deepened an already difficult week.

The Portuguese midfielder’s season, though, was built on rare production. Across the 38-game campaign, he created 21 goals, setting a new benchmark and moving beyond the previous high of 20 assists, a mark held by Thierry Henry from 2002-03 and matched by Kevin De Bruyne in 2019-20. Fernandes was then rewarded with a clean sweep of the FWA Footballer of the Year, PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season awards, along with a club-record fifth Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year honour.

Before the ceremony at the London Palladium, the players outside the top 10 were unveiled in reverse order. Votes came from 100 journalists, one from each of FIFA’s top 100-ranked national teams, and Fernandes ultimately finished behind the leading names in the count. He was only above William Saliba and Sadio Mané, who shared 29th, and Julián Quiñones in 28th place. Declan Rice, who had lost out to Fernandes in the domestic awards, ended up 13 places higher.

This was Fernandes’s second Ballon d’Or nomination, following his inclusion in 2021. That year he finished equal 21st, just ahead of Harry Kane and Luka Modrić among others.

His profile has changed since then. In 2020-21, Fernandes was scoring with far greater regularity, finishing with 28 goals in all competitions as Manchester United came second in the Premier League. Even so, nomination alone remains significant, with fewer than 0.1% of professional players ever reaching that stage.

Manchester United’s history in the award is well established. Denis Law was the club’s first winner in 1964 after scoring 46 times in 1963-64, while Bobby Charlton claimed the prize in 1966 after playing a major role in England’s World Cup triumph.

Manchester United’s latest home defeat to Bournemouth should, on paper, have produced anger aimed squarely at Michael Carrick. Instead, parts of the Old Trafford crowd chose a different response after watching their side lose for an eighth straight match.

As the manager was still on the touchline, supporters sang: “It’s Carrick, you know,” to the tune of Pilot’s 1974 song Magic. They followed it with: “It’s hard to believe it’s not Scholes.”

But the mood shifted sharply once Carrick headed down the tunnel. Boos rang out, quickly joined by explicit chants that underlined the depth of frustration around the club.

The reaction reflected a wider anger that has existed for years. Manchester United fans have been protesting against the ownership since the Glazer family took control on June 28, 2005. Kobbie Mainoo, by then, was only two months old.

Supporters have long objected not simply to the presence of the Glazers, but to the way the takeover was financed. The debt-laden structure left the club carrying heavy interest payments, while the owners remained protected in the boardroom. For many fans, the message has stayed the same: “Sell United and f— off home.”

That anger briefly eased when Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS arrived with a takeover offer in December 2023. Ratcliffe took control of day-to-day sporting operations, initially buying 25% of the shares before increasing that to 28.9%. Yet the Glazers remain involved, and the frustration has only deepened as results have failed to improve.

INEOS has made key appointments, including Omar Berrada as CEO and Jason Wilcox as technical director, but the club is now approaching a fourth permanent manager since their arrival less than three years ago. The transfer windows have also fallen short of expectations, leaving the squad short of what is needed on the pitch.

Carrick can only influence preparation and tactics. Once the match begins, responsibility shifts to the players, and that is where supporters have seen the biggest failings. Bruno Fernandes, benched for the Bournemouth game after speaking out against Carrick’s tactics, is among the senior names who have disappointed this season.

The team have looked sluggish, often outran, and short of the effort supporters demand. That is why a banner calling for the standards of Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and Bryan Robson was brought back out against Bournemouth.

Carrick is not beyond criticism, but many fans believe the deeper problem lies above him, not on the touchline.

Michael Carrick’s start has become harder to defend after Manchester United’s latest setback at Old Trafford, with the manager now matching a sequence the club had not seen since the early part of the century.

United have never gone nine matches without a win since 2000, but Carrick has now equalled the eight-game stretch previously recorded by Louis van Gaal between November and December 2015. That run remains a familiar reference point, not least because Van Gaal kept his job despite it.

The Dutchman’s sequence ended with a 0-0 draw against Chelsea, a result that appeared to buy him more time. He then opened 2016 with a 2-1 victory over Swansea City, a result that helped him see out the season. Whether Carrick receives the same patience is now the central question.

United’s next fixture is another meeting with Chelsea, and it arrives at a moment when the club need something to shift quickly. The Blues’ performance against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday was described as awful, which at least leaves open the possibility of a much-needed response from Carrick’s side.

The wider picture is bleak. As the analysis notes, there is effectively little United can do to change matters other than dismiss the manager. Results are demanded immediately, yet the feeling around the club is that Carrick has too few allies in senior positions if performances continue at this level.

The problems extend beyond the dugout. The board are under scrutiny, but any real reset would take time. The ownership need to settle on a direction, the recruitment team need to prioritise properly and the squad needs to be cleared of a toxic culture that is dragging everything down. Those are not fixes that happen overnight.

Pressure is also building around Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox, but replacing two of the club’s most powerful figures would be another long and complicated process. United do not have the luxury of waiting, with Chelsea, Roma, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Sporting CP and Brentford all next on the schedule. On current form, the winless run could easily grow even longer.