Alejandro Garnacho’s apology to Man Utd boss over social media as new issue arises

Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho did not hold back his true feelings after the Europa League final loss to Tottenham, and it’s not the first time he has got himself into bother at Old Trafford

If Alejandro Garnacho has to apologise for his abrupt comments on Ruben Amorim’s team selection, it will not be the first time the Manchester United forward has been in this position. Garnacho, 20, was clearly furious with Amorim after the Europa League final.

The Argentinian winger was named on the bench for the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao. Amorim did introduce the United academy graduate for Mason Mount, but not until the 71st minute.

The South American was evidently not satisfied with the amount of time he was given to make an impact, as after the match, he lambasted the United head coach for leaving him out of the starting XI. He also described his side’s campaign as “s***”.

It’s not the first time Garnacho has criticised his manager, though. He was previously reprimanded by Erik ten Hag, after he was caught engaging with a social media post criticising the Dutchman. Garnacho ‘liked’ a tweet on X – formerly known as Twitter – that slated Ten Hag for hooking the forward off at half time during United’s 2-2 away draw with Bournemouth last season.

When asked about the matter later on, Ten Hag drew a line under the situation and said: “Alejandro is a young player, he has to learn a lot. He apologised for it and after that we move on.”

Just over a year later, Garnacho has found himself in the headlines for criticising his boss again. Instead of liking a post, the 20-year-old spoke to the media after the final in Bilbao, and said: “Up until the final I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know.

“The final will influence [my decision] but the whole season, the situation of the club. I’m going to try to enjoy the summer and see what happens afterwards.”

Making matters worse, his brother Roberto backed up his sibling on social media in a dig at Amorim. He took to Instagram and wrote: “Working as no-one else, helping every round, coming from two goals in the last two finals, just to be on the pitch for 19 mins and get thrown under the bus. Wowe hahahahahaha.”

It remains to be seen if Amorim responds to Garnacho’s comments and those of his brother, but he will likely be quizzed on the matter on Friday in his pre-match press conference. United host Aston Villa at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday – their final match of the campaign.

Amorim, however, defended his decision to snub the Argentine to begin with in Bilbao and deploy Mount in his position instead.

The Portuguese boss even had a dig at Garnacho himself when he said: “How many times have we had this conversation, and it was the opposite? Some players come in, like Mason Mount, against Bilbao and changed the game.

“So now it is easy to say. Who missed the big opportunity in the first half against Bilbao? Yeah [Garnacho]. Of course, now it is easy for us to talk about a lot of views.”

Garnacho was heavily linked with moves to Napoli and Chelsea in January, but neither deal materialised. His future could now well depend on Amorim’s reaction to his public comments and his brother’s post, with a sale still very possible in the summer, especially after United made every player available for the right price off the back of their damaging defeat to Spurs.

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