The winger's provocative post has confirmed supporters' belief that the Red Devils would be better off without him
You might have heard of the film 'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People'. Alejandro Garnacho has just written a sequel: 'How to Lose Fans and Alienate Prospective Clubs'.
The Manchester United winger is enjoying his summer break and looking for a new team after being told to find one by Ruben Amorim. But rather than keep a low profile, he deliberately courted controversy and baited Red Devils’ fans with a provocative Instagram post on Sunday evening. Walking into a luxury villa in Ibiza, between a Ferrari and a Lamborghini, Garnacho posed wearing an Aston Villa shirt with Marcus Rashford’s name on the back. Rashford gleefully responded to the post, calling Garnacho 'My brother'.
It was blatantly clear what message Garnacho was trying to send. He was putting himself on the side of Rashford and against both the United coach and the club, forming an alliance of outcasts who are heading for permanent exits from the place that formed them. He was painting himself and Rashford, who were both handed lucrative contracts by United in 2023, as the victims.
And so while Garnacho has served to rile up United fans and confirm the growing suspicion among them that the club will be better off without his petulant attitude, despite his enormous talent, he has also raised a red flag towards all the other clubs who might want to sign him this summer and grant him his exit from Old Trafford…
Better off without social media
Garnacho’s post went down terribly with United fans online. ‘His ego is ridiculous’ was one reaction on X while he was also called ‘a weirdo’. ‘Flaunting a lifestyle that the club has provided for him, while also throwing shade at that club and their fans. Crazy ego, get him out,’ was a standout comment on Reddit. Another post read: 'It’s petulant and childish and shows exactly why the manager wants him to go. If he wants to leave the club, he can, literally the only thing stopping him is himself.’
One comment hit the nail on the head: ‘So dumb. Some players would be better off having no social media.’ That certainly seems to be the case with Garnacho, who has had a short career but a long history of online mis-steps that have landed him in varying degrees of trouble.
Garnacho’s online activity first raised eyebrows in 2023 when he posted two gorilla emojis above a picture of Andre Onana celebrating his penalty save against Copenhagen. The post risked being interpreted as racially motivated and against the FA’s social media guidelines, although Onana said he had no problem with it and that Garnacho was using the emojis to express the goalkeeper’s strength and power. Garnacho hastily deleted the posts and got away with a clip round the ear, avoiding the fine and ban that Bernardo Silva and Edinson Cavani had received in previous years.
But he did not learn his lesson to modify his social media activity. Months later, Garnacho liked a post from a fan criticising Erik ten Hag’s management, which was a kick in the teeth to the coach who had given him his opportunity in the first team and kept on picking him despite his young age and rawness. He also got away with that one after apologising to Ten Hag, who reacted by saying: "Alejandro is a young player and has to learn a lot," yet only five months later, Garnacho liked another post criticising the Dutchman, this time from Cristiano Ronaldo.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesDerailing progress with petulance
His misjudgements continued when Amorim succeeded Ten Hag, and Garnacho was left out of the squad along with Rashford for the Manchester derby in December due to showing a bad attitude in training. He was, however, then reinstated to the team and praised by Amorim for his improved focus.
All that progress was derailed when Garnacho stormed down the tunnel after being substituted by Amorim when United were reduced to 10 men against Ipswich Town, and he paid a big price for his petulance as he apologised by paying for a squad dinner. The final straw for Amorim, though, was Garnacho’s reaction to not starting the Europa League final, both his stroppy post-match interview and his brother Roberto’s Instagram post, in which he accused Amorim of throwing the winger under a bus.
Two days later, Amorim told Garnacho in front of the squad at training that he had "better pray" another club wanted to sign him and left him out for the final match of the season against Aston Villa. Garnacho’s girlfriend, in keeping with the family’s love for revealing too much on social media, said that the match would be her last at Old Trafford.
While it is true that United have long seen Garnacho as a player they wanted to cash in on, he has effectively kicked himself out of the club due to his ill-advised comments on social media and in interviews. His teenage brother, Roberto, has not helped matters, as he has repeatedly spouted off after United defeats, and has become so outspoken that some journalists mistakenly assumed he was the players’ agent.
Getty Images SportBelieving the hype
Garnacho is in fact represented by Spanish agents Carlos Cambeiro and Quique de Lucas. They have managed his career well and it should not be forgotten that he has not yet turned 21. But they have not been able to keep his social media use in check, and the player’s insistence on causing a stir online could well be his downfall. The words of Paul Scholes come to mind: "Stop talking on the social media and start playing."
Garnacho was a thrilling prospect when he burst into the United team in 2022-23, ending it with five goals and five assists in all competitions despite mostly playing as a substitute. When GOAL profiled him during that season, United’s head of academy Nick Cox was careful to state that Garnacho had not “made it” and warned that the then-18-year-old "has a lot of development ahead of him."
He locked down his place in the starting line-up the following season and scored the Premier League Goal of the Season against Everton, as well as the opener in the FA Cup final victory over Manchester City. Garnacho finished the campaign with 10 goals and seven assists, an excellent platform for his third season. Last season, meanwhile, was his most productive season, with 11 goals and 10 assists, but some important footnotes are needed.
Six of his 21 goal contributions came in two Carabao Cup games, against Barnsley and Leicester City, while Garnacho just scored six times in the Premier League, with half of them coming against relegated sides. He has not kicked on as much as he should have done, and it feels like he fell into the trap Cox had warned of, believing he had ‘made it’ before he had.
Getty Ronaldo a good role model…
Garnacho’s first Premier League goal for United was a last-gasp winner at Fulham which brought back memories of Ronaldo’s goal at Craven Cottage in 2007. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner had set up Garnacho’s first senior goal for the club weeks earlier at Real Sociedad. and it is no secret that Ronaldo was the player Garnacho had idolised as a child growing up in Madrid.
He has mimicked all of Ronaldo’s major celebrations, which has left him open to ridicule on some occasions, particularly from his Argentina team-mates and left him in an awkward position whenever the Lionel Messi vs Ronaldo debate is raised. Even withstanding Ronaldo’s petulant moments with United, such as when he refused to come on as a substitute and his controversial interview with Piers Morgan, there are not many better role models than Ronaldo when it comes to achievement and self-improvement.