Nicky Butt, a revered figure at Manchester United and previously the academy manager, has openly criticized Alejandro Garnacho following the young forward’s recent incident at Chelsea, labeling his behavior as “disgraceful.”
Garnacho, who had multiple disagreements during his stint at Old Trafford, including a notable clash with former manager Ruben Amorim, has once more found himself under the spotlight. His time at United ended on a contentious note, and it seems his troubles have followed him to Chelsea.
Although Garnacho has recently acknowledged his past mistakes at his former club, Butt did not hesitate to share his perspective on the player from their time together. He recalled Garnacho’s arrival at United alongside Alvaro Fernandez, noting the youngster’s aloof demeanor and self-assured attitude.
“When he signed at 16,” Butt recounted, “I was the academy manager. Garnacho seemed to have a rather high opinion of himself right from the start.”
Butt further elaborated, expressing that Garnacho developed a sense of entitlement too quickly. “Once he made it to the first team, he let it get to his head,” Butt remarked, “achieving a ‘superstar’ status prematurely.”
Nicky Butt has torn into Alejandro Garnacho (pictured) and his attitude at Manchester United
Butt (pictured) argued that it was clear from when he signed at the age of 16 that Garnacho had issues with his attitude
He clarified his stance by stating, “It’s not about the money young players earn—I’m all for them getting paid well—but he hit the superstar level too soon, especially after scoring that phenomenal bicycle kick.”
‘Someone in that club or team at the time should have been swatting him down, and they might have been, and he ignored them. But the best thing Man United did was sell him because, forget his ability, and I don’t think he is that great anyway, but I thought his attitude was a disgrace when he was at Man United.
‘More importantly when he left, and if you completely disrespect your teammates and the football club when you leave, then that’s it.’
Garnacho had placed himself on a collision course with Amorim after publicly revealing his frustration at only being brought on as a late substitute in United’s dismal Europa League final defeat by Tottenham in May. His brother Roberto also stoked the fire by posting a message on social media criticising the head coach for throwing Garnacho ‘under the bus’.
Daily Mail Sport reported in June that the winger was among five United players given permission to delay their return to training while they looked for new clubs. Garnacho is understood to have been told to move on by Amorim in front of his team-mates, and he eventually did that.
Before he left United, meanwhile, he posted a picture of himself wearing an Aston Villa shirt with the name of Marcus Rashford on – his former United team-mate who was also out of favour under Amorim.
Last week, he appeared to delete all Chelsea-related posts from his TikTok account, before going onto play for the Blues at the weekend in their 1-0 defeat by his former side.
‘It is common knowledge that (Amorim) told him on the final game of the season that he can go find a new club,’ Butt, who played for United between 1992 and 2004, continued. ‘If he had been in our team then he would have been taken out every single day in training with the players we were brought up with. He would have been treated really badly, he’d have learned from that and got better.
The forward left in the summer on the back of a string of clashes, including with former manager Ruben Amorim (right)
‘He was 21 or whatever when he left the club but you can’t be up your own backside thinking you are as big or bigger than Man United. In an interview recently I watched it and he said “I thought I should have played every game”. I was thinking number one, you weren’t even that good, and number two you are young, be humble.
‘What I would say is that he was very mentally strong. We had a lad called Anthony Elanga, I thought he was better, if he went at the right-back and lost the first three he wouldn’t do it again. He wouldn’t want to give the ball away. He is different now.
‘Garnacho had that mentality to just keep going, that’s his biggest strength and that is why every now and again he will do something unbelievable. He has massive belief in himself.’
When asked by Premier League Productions if he regretted how his exit from United panned out, Garnacho said last week: ‘Maybe yes, because I loved that club. They gave me the confidence from the start, from Spain, to bring me to the academy, then they bring me to the first team, so it was like four or five years, and amazing love from everyone, from the fans, the stadium, everything was really good.
‘It’s just sometimes you have to change for the good of your life or the next steps. I only have good memories of Man United.’
After a rocky start to life under Amorim, the Portuguese had praised Garnacho’s work to earn a spot back in his team, despite there being no natural fit in his back-three system.
The natural winger slotted into a No10 role, but things went south again and he fell down the pecking order again.
That, he has said, was a key reason as to why he left – admitting that he made some questionable moves when he was out the team.
Garnacho also received criticism for wearing an Aston Villa shirt with Marcus Rashford’s name and number on
‘I remember in the last six months I was just not playing like before at Manchester United,’ he said. ‘I started to be on the bench, it’s not a bad thing, I was only 20 years old, but in my mind it was like I had to play every game.
‘In my mind, maybe it is also on me, I started to do some bad things. But yes, it was just this moment in life and sometimes you have to make decisions and I am really proud to be here and still in the Premier League at a club like this.
‘Everyone knows the team we have and the things we can do. Sometimes, we have better moments or worse moments, I am proud to be here but with United, I have nothing wrong to say about the club, no one in the club or the team-mates. It’s just a moment in life that changes and life continues. I have no regrets.’
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