Garnacho dropped by Ten Hag after liking Instagram post slamming Man Utd boss (original) (raw)

Alejandro Garnacho has been named on the bench for Manchester United's Premier League clash with Southampton, having liked an Instagram post this week which contained criticism of manager Erik ten Hag

Alejandro Garnacho was benched on Saturday as Manchester United faced Southampton

Erik ten Hag dropped Alejandro Garnacho to the bench for Manchester United's trip to Southampton after the winger liked an Instagram post containing criticism of his boss this week.

Garnacho, 20, started United's humiliating 3-0 defeat to arch enemies Liverpool a fortnight ago but has been left out of Ten Hag's XI in place of fellow winger Amad. The Argentina international recently played 11 minutes as a second-half substitute in his country's World Cup qualifier against Chile before watching their second game from the bench.

During his time away, Garnacho was spotted liking a post which contained quotes from from ex-team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, who slammed Ten Hag for supposedly sending the wrong message when it comes to United's chances of winning major titles.

Fans feared that the 20-year-old would suffer Ten Hag's wrath and after the Dutchman insisted that Ronaldo wasn't accurate in his remarks, he chose to drop Garnacho. "No, he said this, if you read the article very well," Ten Hag said about being asked about Ronaldo's claims.

"He is far away in Saudi [Arabia], far away from Manchester, so everyone can have an opinion and is entitled to have an opinion, so it's okay. We will see where we are in May next year.

"It's very early in the season and it's about winning trophies, being as high as possible in the league, doing everything to win every game and then we will see in May where we are in the league."

United sources insist that Ten Hag's decision is tactical and not a direct result of Garnacho liking the post. The Red Devils manager did bring the winger on late in the second half, though, and he netted the third goal to wrap up United's 3-0 win.

Ronaldo's comments came while appearing on ex-United centre-back Rio Ferdinand's YouTube channel, claiming: "United, they need to rebuild everything, in my opinion. The coach, they say they cannot compete to win the Premier League and Champions League.

"Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you're not going to fight to win the League or Champions League. You have to be, to mentally say, 'Listen maybe we don't have that potential', but I cannot say that. We're going to try. You have to try.... This is why Man United need to rebuild.

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Erik ten Hag was criticised by Cristiano Ronaldo (

Image:

James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who Ten Hag allowed to leave Old Trafford in 2022, told his ex-manager to listen to new assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy, who Ronaldo played alongside during his first spell at United. "If Ten Hag listens to Ruud, maybe he can help the club," the Portuguese megastar, who's now playing for Saudi side Al-Nassr, went on to say.

"I think he can help a lot. And the club should listen to the players who played there. You [Ferdinand] or Roy Keane or Paul Scholes or Gary Neville, whoever it is, Sir Alex Ferguson... You cannot rebuild a club without knowledge."

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