Alejandro Garnacho has opened up on his final few months under Rúben Amorim at Manchester United before signing for Chelsea in August.
Alejandro Garnacho left Manchester United during the summer transfer window, sealing a £40 million move to Premier League rivals Chelsea.
The 21-year-old had first broken into United’s senior side under Erik ten Hag and remained involved following Rúben Amorim’s arrival.
However, lacking a clear role in Amorim’s system and with tensions growing after the Europa League final, Garnacho opted to depart.
The winger was one of five United players the head coach had banished from first-team training sessions after they reportedly requested to leave Old Trafford, although representatives of some players disputed this.
Garnacho makes identical point to Antony
Garnacho is yet to score for his new club, but has played four times, two of these coming from the start. The 21-year-old played 61 minutes in Chelsea’s 1-0 Champions League win over Benfica, securing a further three points in the competition.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Garnacho opened up for the first time on leaving United, stating that although he had a “bad moment” in the summer, he has no negative things to say about his former side.
“I think it was a difficult moment there, just training alone,” Garnacho explained. “But I have nothing bad to say about the club, my old club, Manchester United.
“It was just a bad moment in life, but now I’m very happy to be here and to play in this competition and to get the three points today.”
Garnacho has made a very similar point to Antony, another United winger who was banished from Amorim’s squad last summer and joined Real Betis for £21.5 million. The Brazilian recently admitted that, although the summer was a hard situation, he is nothing but grateful to the Old Trafford club.
Garnacho’s time was an unfortunate but natural end
When Garnacho made his debut for United, he started how every young winger should – a lively, hungry, and immediate impact off the bench. During his first full senior season in Red, the player made 37 appearances, scoring six goals and assisting six, primarily from the bench.
However, in Ten Hag’s second season, he became a more regular starter, eventually starting close to 40 fixtures in a row for United as he turned 20, which later created issues.
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Once Amorim was in charge, Garnacho’s strongest position became less clear, and the expectation created by Ten Hag starting him twice a week meant that when he was moved back to a rotation role alongside United’s other forwards, it felt like a step back for the winger.
Although Garnacho did end up still playing 40 times under Amorim, many of which were from the start, it became clear that a rift was starting to appear between the player and coach.
Eventually, just before the final game of the season, Amorim reportedly told Garnacho that “you better pray that you can find a club to sign you,” which signalled a clear end in their relationship, making the eventual move to Chelsea an unfortunate but correct decision.
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