Alejandro Garnacho left Manchester United in bitter circumstances last summer before sparking “concern” with something he did

Alejandro Garnacho was once tipped to spearhead Manchester United’s attack into a new and more fruitful era.

The Argentine joined United in 2020 as a mere 16-year-old from Atletico Madrid. Determined to follow in his idol Cristiano Ronaldo’s footsteps, the youngster broke into the first-team fold, playing alongside the aforementioned veteran and exciting Old Trafford with his wing play.

Garnacho went from strength to strength under Erik ten Hag and helped save the Dutchman’s job, at least temporarily, with a goal against Manchester City in the FA Cup final. Along with Kobbie Mainoo, he was seen as a key player for the club for the next decade, only to end up joining Premier League rivals Chelsea last August for £40million.

The Manchester Evening News now takes a look at how it came to be that such an exceptional talent left United, his current relationship with the team and how he is faring in west London.

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Bitter exit

The beginning of the end for Garnacho at United was the arrival of Ruben Amorim. Early signs of friction between player and head coach appeared in December 2024 when the Argentina international was dropped, along with Marcus Rashford, for a Manchester Derby after apparently performing poorly in training.

Their relationship soured as the season went on, and he was left out of the starting line-up for last season’s Europa League final, which United lost. He was openly critical of the decision, which all but confirmed he would have no further part to play under the Portuguese boss, as he was relegated to the ‘bomb squad’ over the summer and sold to Chelsea.

Garnacho made 144 appearances for United, netting 26 goals and providing 22 assists. He left United with a farewell message that indicated he held some fondness for his previous club.

But he also expressed little remorse about departing the red half of Manchester in bitter circumstances. Garnacho even suggested leaving United was an essential move for his development. When asked whether he held any regrets, Garnacho responded: “No.”

Pressed on whether he felt sadness about how his spell at United concluded, he again said: “No.” He added: “Sometimes in life you need to change things to take a step forward or improve as a player,” Garnacho explained. “It was the right moment, and the right club. So it was an easy decision.”

Message to Fernandes

Despite his attitude towards the club, Garnacho seems to still cherish his friendship with several of his former team-mates. He appears to be following United’s matches closely, allegedly giving his views on Mainoo’s own issues with Amorim earlier this season.

And, following United’s shock 3-2 win over Arsenal in January, he shared the players’ enthusiasm on social media. After the game, United skipper Fernandes shared a few pictures from the match, including one with goalscorer Patrick Dorgu, who delivered a strong performance.

He wrote: “Ballon D’orgu,” followed by a lovestruck emoji. That prompted a response from Garnacho, who replied with: “T best.”

Chelsea struggles

Despite leaving United for a hefty fee, Garnacho’s first season at Chelsea has been underwhelming. He has scored six goals and notched three assists in 29 appearances but has only shown flashes of brilliance as opposed to consistently imposing himself on matches.

After a poor display against relegation-threatened West Ham in January, Garnacho was called out by his own manager. Liam Rosenior said: “[He’d] be the first to say that maybe his performance wasn’t to his level in that [West Ham] game, but there were many collective things. I know Garna is an outstanding player, that’s why he’s here…”

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Pundit Gary Neville also took a swipe at the forward while partly blaming him for their 2-0 deficit at half-time. The United legend said: “That left side of Chelsea was obliterated. Alejandro Garnacho is a player that divides opinion, I think, at times.

“A lot of people are questioning, is he top-class or where is he? Where is he in the pecking order? What was difficult to watch last night was a young player like that, who’s gone to Chelsea and he looked shot to pieces in terms of his confidence on that left-hand side.”

More recently, Alan Shearer has voiced his concern over how easily Garnacho goes to ground, suggesting that it may show a lack of desire to really affect games.

Speaking on the BBC One live commentary, Shearer wasn’t too impressed with how easily Garnacho went down from a cross in the first half, saying: “I’d love to be wrong, but I think if he shows more desire and strength, he gets on the end of that, rather than looking for a penalty, which it wasn’t.”

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Harrison Smith looked set to retire as he left the field on the final game of the 2025 season. There was a planned moment for teammates and fans alike to show their appreciation to the “Hitman”. An official retirement announcement has yet to come, but finding Smith’s successor is a major priority for the Minnesota Vikings.

Whether he decides to go again for another year or the expected retirement finally comes, the Vikings still need to find his long-term successor. Josh Metellus carved out a kind of hybrid role on Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ defense. He is better suited to that role and should remain in it for the Vikings to get the best out of him.

Bryan Cook’s Skill Set Aligns with Flores’ Defensive Structure

That leaves the Vikings looking for someone to team with Metellus, and there are two obvious places to look. Free agency or the draft, Pro Football Focus thinks they have the perfect answer in Bryan Cook.

A two-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs, Cook has played four seasons with the Chiefs since being drafted in the second round of the 2022 draft. His rookie contract is finished, and Cook will be looking to cash in on a good four years in the league.

What Can Cook Bring to Minnesota?

Cook comes from an aggressive, blitz-heavy scheme that also deploys unique blitz packages in Steve Spagnuolo’s Kansas City defense. So he should smoothly transition into the Brian Flores defense in Minnesota. Most importantly, Cook has played particularly well in coverage when the Chiefs’ defense blitzes, something the Vikings have had problems with in their secondary.

Pro Football Focus names Minnesota a top landing spot for Cook, a perfect fit, and a place where he can become the successor to Smith. Here is what PFF had to say in a recent article.

There are nuances to playing solid coverage behind an aggressive defensive front, and Bryan Cook showed he is well-equipped to handle the role this past season, earning an 80.3 PFF coverage grade when the defense blitzes.

Grading out above the 90th percentile as both a safety and in the slot, Cook also possesses the versatility to be a central piece that allows Flores’ scheme to shine. His skill set is in a similar vein to that of the longtime veteran leader of the Vikings’ defense, and impending free agent, Harrison Smith.  

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Cook is arguably the best safety available in free agency this year — Kamren Curl is the other top safety available — and won’t come cheap. Minnesota has work to do to get its salary cap in a place where this deal could get done. It would be worth doing for a player who should fit seamlessly into the team and improve it.

Cook turns 27 as the 2026 season begins, so he has plenty of football ahead of him, making him a long-term investment for the team if the Vikings make this move.

Proud UK Viking. Family Man. Enjoy writing about my team. Away from football an advocate for autism acceptance.

Kieran Maguire, football finance expert

Given United have no European football this season and no cup ties at Old Trafford, the less than 4% fall in matchday revenue over the six-month period is arguably impressive, especially when you consider they played only 10 home games compared to 15 in the same period last year.

The credit goes to a deliberate strategy of hiking season ticket and matchday prices, and shifting towards premium ‘matchday experiences’ rather than simply selling tickets to watch football.

It is a policy that has frustrated parts of the fanbase, but the demand for these packages gives the club’s hierarchy the commercial justification to press on.

Wage costs are also falling. A wave of significant redundancies over the past year cut the payroll, while high earners like Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund have been moved off the books – temporarily at least – via loans.

Strip away the positives and the core problem remains. United spent more cash than they generated in the three months to 31 December and, with heavy transfer market activity on top, added £25m to their existing debt pile while their cash balance fell by £50m.

There is also a cost lurking in the background. The sacking of Erik ten Hag and his backroom staff in 2023-24 landed United with a £14.5m bill. The dismissal of Amorim will bring its own severance costs, but those will not show up until the third-quarter results later this year.

A strong finish to the Premier League season could change the narrative significantly.

Champions League qualification would deliver a substantial cash injection, although it comes with a catch.

Many United players have contractual wage increases triggered by participation in European football, meaning higher revenues would quickly be offset by a sharply rising wage bill.

For United, as ever, there is no simple fix.

Beau Greaves created history by becoming the first woman to hit a nine-dart finish on the PDC ProTour.

The 22-year-old hit perfection in her Players Championship 6 clash with Mensur Suljovic in Leicester.

She hit consecutive 180s and then finished by taking out 141, pinning a double 12.

The Doncaster thrower looked overwhelmed after the leg, with Suljovic offering her a handshake.

She managed to compose herself to claim a 6-5 victory in the last 32, winning a final-leg decider.

Greaves has been the flagbearer for the women’s game in recent years, seeming almost invincible on the women’s tour while also beating Luke Littler on her way to the World Youth Championship final.

Greaves, who went on to lose to David Sharp in the third round, said: “I couldn’t believe I’d hit it! I just about hit the treble 19 and then I was quite confident that the double 12 was going in.

“I couldn’t stop smiling because I couldn’t wait to tell my dad, even though I knew he’d be watching it.

“I’ve narrowly missed hitting one a few times so it was nice to finally hit one. It’s nice to be the first woman to hit one on the PDC ProTour, I’m glad it was on the stream as well.

“It was hard to get back into the game after I’d hit it, I was shaking afterwards. It was nerve-wracking but I managed to get the win in the end.

“I’m enjoying my start to life on the PDC ProTour. I’ve been struggling in patches with a bit of tension in my throw, but I’m playing well and enjoying it.

“You’re playing the best players in the world so if you lose a game, it’s just a case of your opponent playing better than you on the day.”

Gerwyn Price finished off a classy day in Leicester with a destructive 8-1 win over Andrew Gilding in the final.

A host of big names – such as Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Littler – were absent from the tournament.

The Iceman averaged 98.68 and landed two ton-plus checkouts in a dominant performance to get his hands on his first Players Championship title of the season.

Price knocked out Jonny Clayton and Kevin Doets on his way to the final.

Tony Bellew has predicted a scenario where, in the wake of Oleksandr Usyk’s retirement, there is one man who comes along and mops up all the titles.

Usyk was crowned the undisputed king of his division in 2024, cementing his status with back-to-back points victories over Tyson Fury.

Then, after being forced to relinquish his IBF strap, the Ukrainian became a three-time, two-weight undisputed champion by stopping Daniel Dubois in round five of their heavyweight rematch.

Since extending his unblemished record in July, though, Usyk has once again vacated a world title, this time enabling Fabio Wardley to be elevated from ‘interim’ to full WBO champion.

As a result, Wardley will now defend his prize against Dubois on May 9, while Usyk – holding three of the four major belts – resumes his status as the bona fide heavyweight king.

But then, when the 39-year-old ultimately hangs up his gloves, many believe that heavyweight prodigy Moses Itauma will step in to take his place.

Itauma has not quite proven himself at the highest level, with his best win arguably coming against a faded Dillian Whyte in August, but the 21-year-old is nonetheless ranked No.1 with both the WBO and WBA.

Speaking with Football Blog, Bellew names the precocious talent as an undisputed heavyweight champion in waiting, capable of collecting all the titles once Usyk retires.

“Oleksandr Usyk’s just going to walk away into the sunset, and he’s going to go, ‘I’ve had enough’.

“When he does, you will find them all scavenged towards the belts, and then you will find lesser champions and then somebody else will come along. Hence, Moses Itauma, and he will clean up again. And then you will have a reigning, undisputed unified champion again.”

Before anything else, Itauma must first get past Jermaine Franklin on March 28, with the durable customer expected to take him past round two for the first time in nine fights.