Alejandro Garnacho’s ill-advised comments after last Thursday’s Europa League final defeat have signalled the end of his Manchester United career.
While the youngster could well feature on the side’s post-season tour of Asia, it’s widely expected that he has now played his final competitive game in a United shirt – and he only has himself to blame if that is to be the case.
In the aftermath of the loss in Bilbao, Garnacho rued Ruben Amorim’s decision to leave him on the bench, stated the side hadn’t ‘won any games’ in the league, and ended his media duties by saying: “I’ll enjoy the summer and then we’ll see.”
Why Garnacho’s United tenure has come to an unsavoury end
Such an outburst would result in almost any manager seeing red, given how publicly Garnacho has undermined Amorim as he attempts to win over the Old Trafford faithful following a turbulent six months in charge.
Unsurprisingly, the Argentine was then omitted entirely from the final game of the campaign at home to Aston Villa. He proceeded to take part in the lap of appreciation with his partner and son at full-time, waving goodbye to the Stretford End for presumably the last time as a Red.
‘Writing was on the wall’ after Garnacho’s comments, says Peter Crouch
Peter Crouch weighed on Garnacho’s controversial admission, telling the TNT Sports panel: “I just think the minute he came out and gave that interview after the game, completely undermining the manager, the writing was definitely on the wall.
“You can’t speak about a Manchester United manager like that, especially someone who is trying to find his feet as well, trying to get the fans on his side, you come out and kind of give the manager a bit of grief, questioning his thoughts and opinions on picking the team.”
“That, for me, is completely undermining the manager, and the manager has to then show his authority,” the ex-striker continued. “If you don’t deal with that early, that could breed right through the dressing room, and other players then come out and say, ‘Oh I can talk about my situation’. Not good at all.
“He is a fantastic young player, but those comments let him down, and he has to be moved.”
In January, the 20-year-old had garnered interest from both Chelsea and Napoli, with the latter having a £45 million bid rejected. It’s thought the two clubs could revive their pursuit when the window opens next month, and United will look to recuperate £60m from their academy graduate’s exit.
