Former Manchester United midfielder, Nicky Butt, has delivered a stinging assessment of Alejandro Garnacho’s time at the club, describing the winger’s behaviour as a “disgrace” and insisting his departure was ultimately beneficial for the team.
The 21-year-old forward struggled to cement his place at Manchester United under former head coach Ruben Amorim and was eventually sold last summer to Chelsea in a deal worth £40 million ($54m) following a lengthy transfer saga.
Since arriving at Stamford Bridge, Garnacho has yet to fully settle and was underwhelming in Saturday’s meeting with his former club, where United edged a 1-0 victory.
The game also saw post-match social media exchanges involving United players, including a photo shared by defender Luke Shaw showing him pushing Garnacho, while Bruno Fernandes reacted with a GIF saying “that’s a violation” and Joshua Zirkzee commenting “nice one mate.”
Butt believes those reactions highlight deeper issues with Garnacho’s attitude during his time at Old Trafford.
Speaking on “The Good, The Bad and the Football” podcast (via ESPN), he said, “The best thing for me that Manchester United did was sell him because, forget his ability, I don’t think he’s that great anyway.
“However, his attitude for me was a disgrace when he was at United.
“That’s why that happens when people post things like that [Shaw on Instagram]. If you are in a changing room and you leave and completely disrespect your teammates and football club.
“He’d have been taken out every single day in training. He’d have been put in his place very quickly with the likes of the players we got brought up with. Swatted down, taken out.
“He would’ve been treated really badly if he behaved like that, but he’d have learnt from it and got better.”
Butt, who served as Manchester United’s head of academy from 2016 to 2019 before becoming head of first-team development until 2021, also suggested Garnacho’s rapid rise contributed to his perceived attitude issues.
He added: “Garnacho was always a bit standoffish. He had a high opinion of himself.
“I thought he had an edge about him and when he went into Manchester United’s first team, and I will say what I think because I was there looking at it, he got above his station way too quick.
“He got a superstar status way too quick. And that’s not me, an old player, saying they get paid this, I hope young players get paid millions.
“But he got superstars status so quickly and then scored the bicycle-kick, which was a phenomenal goal and then it went like that.
“Someone in that football club should have been swatting him down. They might have been and he’s just ignored them.”
