Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho could be the latest player to find himself in the bad books of Erik ten Hag. The forward was substituted off at half-time in the Red Devils’ draw with Bournemouth on Saturday evening, and his social media activity certainly suggested that he was unhappy with the decision.
Captain Bruno Fernandes came to United’s rescue twice at the Vitality Stadium, equalising after Dominic Solanke’s opener before keeping his cool from the spot after Justin Kluivert had restored the Cherries’ lead.
The performance left plenty to be desired, with Ten Hag visibly infuriated throughout. With his side trailing 2-1 at the break, the Dutchman opted for a tactical tweak which raised eyebrows within the away end.
Garnacho was withdrawn, with Amad Diallo coming on in his place to make his third appearance of the campaign. Ten Hag was quizzed on the decision in his post-match press conference, revealing that Garnacho had missed significant parts of training this week through injury and that Bournemouth were targeting the right side of his team.
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The Argentine international did not appear entirely pleased with the decision though, liking two controversial tweets on X before posting a ‘speechless’ picture on Instagram. Ten Hag has made it no secret that he is aware of social media conduct and willing to take action, as shown by how he exiled Jadon Sancho, and Garnacho may be playing with fire with his actions.
The teenage prospect liked, and has since unliked, two tweets from YouTuber Mark Goldbridge. The first read: “Garnacho has been one of our best players this season. Poor first half but taking him off at half time and holding him up as the problem is a joke. Many have done much worse week in week out and are still out there.”
Though Garnacho did not stop there, liking another post which read: “Ten Hag subtly blaming Garnacho in the post match press conference… not a good look throwing a 19 year old under the bus who has actually delivered for you this season. But then again he’s clearly scared of upsetting the bigger earners.”
The versatile winger then implied that he was unhappy with an Instagram story, posting a photo of him looking downbeat with an emoji of a shocked face. He also later deleted his story post. In the circumstances, a picture (or an emoji) paints a thousand words and it remains to be seen whether Ten Hag takes action against his No. 17 over the coming days.
