Manchester United In Talks With Garnacho Over Social Media Controversy

Manchester United have engaged in discussions with 19-year-old winger Alejandro Garnacho after he showed support for social media posts criticizing manager Erik ten Hag for his treatment of the player.

Garnacho Argentine international who was substituted at half-time during their 2-2 draw against Bournemouth on Saturday, liked two posts on social media by United fan and YouTuber Mark Goldbridge.

One post accused Ten Hag of “throwing Garnacho under the bus” because of comments the United boss made about the winger’s performance. The other said Garnacho “had a poor first half but taking him off at halftime and holding him up as the problem is a joke”.

Garnacho promptly ‘unliked’ both posts, a gesture interpreted by the club as a sign of remorse. A United source informed the PA news agency that the issue had been addressed internally.

Having become a pivotal player for United this season, the teenager has scored nine goals and contributed four assists in 42 appearances.

This incident comes on after a previous one in September when Jadon Sancho expressed to X that he felt unfairly targeted after being omitted from the squad for the Arsenal game. Ten Hag had cited poor training as the reason for Sancho’s exclusion.

Sancho firmly stated, “I will not tolerate false accusations,” which was seen as an implication that Ten Hag had misrepresented the reasons for his absence from the team.

Following this incident, the 24-year-old was excluded from the first-team squad before being loaned to Borussia Dortmund in January. After the draw against Bournemouth, which saw United slide to seventh in the Premier League standings, 13 points adrift of the top four, the pressure on Ten Hag’s position has intensified.

With only the FA Cup remaining as a potential trophy this season, United are set to face second-tier side Coventry in the semi-final at Wembley on Sunday.