Bruno Fernandes is one of the best players in the world right now. There, we said it.

With his latest penalty conversion wrapping up a 3-1 win for Manchester United on Sunday night, Fernandes became just the third player in Europe to move into double figures for both goals and assists.

It also ensured that the former Sporting Lisbon general has provided the same number of goal contributions as Lionel Messi since he put pen to paper on his move to Old Trafford.

Fernandes' incredible stats

And now Frank Lampard's record for the most goals from midfield in a single Premier League season (22) is in Fernandes' sights as he lurks just seven strikes behind.

But he'll have to make sure that there's room on his mantelpiece if that's the case because the £81 million-rated playmaker has already bagged four Premier League Player of the Month gongs.

So, it's fair to say that Fernandes has been making his presence felt in England's top-flight but strangely, not everybody is convinced by the hype surrounding his performances.

Common criticisms of Fernandes

Now, while that might sound like we're setting the scene for rival fans throwing their toys out of the pram, believe us when we say there are actually some United supporters who fit into this demographic.

And the revisionist view of Fernandes tends to align itself as a double-pronged argument: he doesn't show up in the big games and his numbers are subject to 'stat-padding'.

While the former argument at least has some legs, the latter is shallow at best, but still means through which fans have poured cold water on Fernandes' impressive stats in the Premier League.

'The biggest false image in world football'

And that's exactly the situation that arose after the Newcastle United win with Twitter user @CF_Comps uploading a montage titled: "Bruno Fernandes - The Biggest False Image in World Football."

Uh huh, you really did read that right and we can smell your skepticism from here, so be sure to check out the compilation in its entirety down below:

GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says

Give me a break.

What is Fernandes supposed to do: only play ambitious, 30-yard diagonal balls in the hope of fancier assists or occasionally give his penalties to other players? Oh, wait, yeh, he's already done the latter.

And even with some spot-kick generosity along the way, Fernandes has long since proven that he's far more than just a penalty taker, scoring from open play 13 times this season. 

And you only have to look at his strikes against West Bromwich Albion, Everton and İstanbul Başakşehir, to name just a few, to see that his non-penalty goals are by no means simple tap-ins.

So, sure, perhaps the video is just a playful piece of banter on a night where United fans were celebrating and if so, c'est la vie, but what more does Fernandes need to do to prove his world-class status!?