Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos must open their eyes to the reality facing Manchester United and one stranglehold over the Premier League club’s identity.

Peter Schmeichel appeared on the Overlap Daily alongside Ashley Young and made a resounding assessment of the Red Devils’ current state under Michael Carrick.

The 62-year-old Manchester United legend insisted that the Red Devils have “never ever been” about one player at the Premier League club in their entire history.

However, Peter Schmeichel highlighted that Bruno Fernandes is one exception to that conversation and it is the biggest wake-up call for United now as well.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos will have to face the daunting objective of making Man Utd’s identity less reliant on Bruno Fernandes

“[…] If Manchester United is only one player and if that one player is not playing anymore to his ability, which, I mean, obviously Bruno was brilliant last season under Michael [Carrick], but he’s not been so good this season,” Peter Schmeichel said on The Overlap’s YouTube channel.

“He’s not been at the level that he’s been at for whatever reason. It can be the World Cup, you know, you’re tired, mentally tired. There’s a lot of excuses you can make for that. But if Manchester United is all about Bruno, Manchester United has never ever been about one player.”

If the conversations around Ineos’ management of United are put to one side, then Bruno Fernandes’ status becomes clear for the systemic issue at the Premier League club. It is difficult to argue against Schmeichel and how reliant United have become on Fernandes since his arrival from Sporting CP in 2020.

In the space of six years, Fernandes’ impact has led to the conversation around the best signing post-Sir Alex Ferguson starting and ending with his name. There is not even a debate about that matter. United have become a one-man team, which is something that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos will have to tackle.

'Back him big time'… Manchester United have been told to support Michael Carrick long-term – and not just week-to-week

Commentator Ian Darke says United's show of faith in Carrick does not go far enough – What should the club do?

Even in the current turbulent season under Michael Carrick, Fernandes’ stunning hat-trick in August in United’s 5-2 comeback performance against Ipswich Town is the only reason the Red Devils have a single Premier League win so far. There is a reason why a sheer sense of dread engulfs United fans when it comes to Fernandes’ future, as the Red Devils hang their hopes and dreams on his shoulders.

Just putting Schmeichel’s remarks into context, he is right about United never being a one-man show as it has been now. Even during Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign, Cristiano Ronaldo or Eric Cantona were only one important cog in a well-oiled machine. Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, had the likes of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez delivering for United when he couldn’t in his first spell.

Even going back further in history, there is a reason why Man Utd’s ‘Holy Trinity’ was a collective rather than a focus on a singular player. Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law collectively played their parts in making United the first English club in history to lift the European Cup in 1968.

Schmeichel has said that the Red Devils are now a “one-man team” during his conversation with former Man Utd captain Ashley Young. While he added that United have “never been a one-man team,” Schmeichel has shown that Ineos’ biggest task is truly trying to break the narrative around the club with Fernandes.