Maguire was dropped to the bench when Man United hosted Liverpool in a Premier League tie at Old Trafford on Monday night.
Goldennewsng report that the England centre-back watched from the bench as Fernandes captained Man United against Liverpool, with Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford scoring to give Erik ten Hag’s side a 2-1 win over the Reds.
Also, with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez impressing at the heart of defence, it raises the question of when Maguire will return to Man United’s squad with the former Leicester City star also the subject of an approach from Chelsea.
And while Maguire has often struggled with the weight of being Man United captain, Ferdinand believes Fernandes will use it to return to his best form on a consistent basis.
“I think I would stick with who we have got at the moment, he looks like he [Fernandes] feeds off that responsibility,” Ferdinand told Vibe.
“Bruno has an ego and wants to be the main man. When Cristiano comes in there is no discussing who the main man is. There’s no disguising he’s the main man, regardless of who you are, what you have done.
“I think when Bruno came here he was the main man, a cult figure because of his performances and goals and that was kind of put in the shadows when Cristiano Ronaldo came. He’s come off the levels as much as anyone because he was hitting such high levels.
“Listen, the levels he was hitting he couldn’t continue because it was ridiculous what he was doing, the output. But to drop off from where he was, he would benefit the most from getting the armband,” he said.
He added, “Look at the performance from Bruno. Bruno looks like a different person when Cristiano is not there. He looks like a different player in terms of energy, in terms of focus, decision making, everything.
“Today he looked disciplined in the way he jumped out and was pressing. He just looked, his whole demeanour, I just sense a difference when Cristiano’s not there. It just seems like the whole aura of Cristiano for some people like it or not, sometimes it’s too much pressure for some people, they see the game differently.
“It’s not the fault of those players, it’s just who they are. their stature is so great it can be daunting, it can weigh heavy on other players but the manager might think he is a burden on some of these players. It shouldn’t be like that but unfortunately if it is that case and there are too many players in their shells when Ronaldo is about, he may say his time’s up.”