Alejandro Garnacho looks likely to leave Manchester United after falling out with Ruben Amorim, having expressed his frustration with his manager, and Graeme Souness believes it points to a “culture” problem at the club
Liverpool legend Graeme Souness has warned Manchester United “there’ll be more Alejandro Garnachos” if they don’t change their culture at the club. Garnacho appears to have fallen out with manager Ruben Amorim after being benched for the Europa League final defeat against Tottenham – and left out altogether for the final day clash against Aston Villa.
Garnacho is the latest player to have clashed with Amorim after Marcus Rashford, with both players struggling to deliver on their promise after being dropped by Amorim at various points this season.
Rashford is almost certain to depart if United can identify a club who will pay their £40million asking price, while Garnacho is also expected to leave after Amorim reportedly told him he must “pray” he could find a new team. After their Europa League loss to Spurs, Garnacho admitted his frustration over not being picked and said the team’s season was “s***”.
Souness – who played 354 times for the Reds before managing them for three years in the 1990s – feels both players are examples of a poor culture in the dressing room and said there was “too much money and respect” influencing young players.
“The fact Alejandro Garnacho has been told he can leave Manchester United underlines why I have persistently said he is a classic example of a young player who has had too much too soon,” he told the Daily Mail.
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“That’s too much admiration, too much money, too much respect from within the football club and too much from outside, from the public. It puts players like him in a headspace that is detrimental to their growth as a human being and as a football player. It’s compounded by the fact he is at Manchester United where a player’s profile, even before he has even appeared regularly for the club, is bigger and wider than with any other club in the country.
“Marcus Rashford, has one season of scoring 30 goals and what does the club do? Give him over £300,000 a week. Look at how that has worked out.”
Souness claimed there weren’t enough experienced leaders in the dressing room to help Garnacho stay grounded and cited Cristiano Ronaldo as a player who the youngster could have benefited learning more from. He insisted when he was a player, he felt “insignificant” despite being club captain, because manager Ronnie Moran kept them on their toes.
“You often hear United managers talk about the culture being wrong. Who does Garnacho have to look up to in that dressing room, that is setting an example? Someone he would want to become. They had the best example in the world and let him go: Cristiano Ronaldo. He would have been worth keeping for the example he set. Staying on after training, dedicating his lifestyle to the sport.
“At Liverpool you were never allowed to have a big head on your shoulders. That’s why I cite Ronnie Moran as the greatest influence on my career. I was captain of Liverpool, but I felt insignificant. Statistics tell you we were pretty good, but Ronnie never let us become ‘Billy Big Heads’.”
Garnacho is now being linked with a move to Chelsea after returning from the club’s post-season tour to Asia. The 20-year-old made it clear he was unhappy to travel after uploading a picture of the airport runway after getting back home, with the caption: “Finally”.
Napoli have also been mentioned as an interested party in the player who managed 10 goals and nine assists in all competitions for United this season.
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