Man United fans are about to make their feelings on Alejandro Garnacho clear

Man United fans are about to make their feelings on Alejandro Garnacho clear - 'Happy that he left'

Alejandro Garnacho will return to Old Trafford this weekend for the first time since leaving Manchester United to sign for Chelsea.

Many Manchester United fans will have cringed when they read Alejandro Garnacho's first words after signing for Chelsea.

"I can't wait to get started. I watched the Club World Cup, and to join the world champions is special - we're the best team in the world," said Garnacho.

Garnacho trained alone at Carrington throughout the summer after a breakdown in his relationship with Ruben Amorim at the end of last season. He expressed his desire to leave, and a £40million deal was finally agreed with Chelsea in the final week of the transfer window.

That felt like a low fee for a player of Garnacho's talent, but Chelsea initially entered discussions by offering £25m and United's bargaining power was damaged by the world knowing he needed to leave.

Regardless, Garnacho became United's fourth-highest sale in history, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku and Angel Di Maria.

United included a 10 per cent sell-on fee in the deal and Garnacho signed a lucrative seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge. United said Garnacho left for London with their best wishes, but that sentiment is not shared by some supporters after an eventful final six months at the club.

There were discipline issues with Garnacho during Erik ten Hag's reign, but the beginning of the end of his United career was in December when he was dropped for the Manchester derby.

Speaking before that game, Ruben Amorim confirmed Garnacho and Marcus Rashford had been dropped due to selection reasons. They were available, but Amorim had seen something he did not like.

Garnacho was reintegrated into the squad, while Rashford was sent on loan to Aston Villa. Garnacho sought to make amends with Amorim and did the right things to be involved again.

However, cracks reappeared against Ipswich Town at the end of February when Garnacho stormed down the tunnel at Old Trafford after being sacrificed following a red card to Patrick Dorgu.

Garnacho posted a photo of himself on an Instagram Story to tell the world he wasn't happy. Amorim subsequently clarified that he had apologised and offered to pay for a team dinner.

"He is a young kid that will learn,” said Amorim, but Garnacho didn't learn quickly enough because he undermined his manager again following the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham.

Garnacho was introduced in the final in Bilbao with 20 minutes remaining. And earlier in the day, he uploaded a photo of himself scoring in last season's FA Cup final on Instagram.

It appeared to suggest he'd been omitted from the starting XI, and Garnacho was confirmed to be on the bench at the Estadio de San Mames when the team news was revealed.

Garnacho told reporters: "Up until the final I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don't know. The final will influence [his decision to stay at United]."

His younger brother, Roberto Garnacho, added fuel to the fire when he posted on social media: "Working as no one else, helping every round, coming from two goals last two finals, just to be on the pitch for 19 mins and get thrown under the bus. Wowe, hahahaha."

The irony is that club sources who worked with Garnacho at Carrington insisted he couldn't be further from the image that was eventually portrayed.

Garnacho was described as a quiet, almost shy, member of the dressing room. He was said to be polite and humble, which probably contradicts the image some fans now have of him.

But Garnacho is responsible for United fans' perception, and it will be fascinating to see how the youngster is welcomed when he returns to Old Trafford with Chelsea on Saturday evening.

Garnacho is an academy graduate. He was talismanic during the special FA Youth Cup campaign in 2021/22 and produced some brilliant moments for the first team, including the opening goal against Manchester City in the FA Cup final in 2024, but the circumstances around his exit haven't sat right with fans.

The Manchester Evening News wanted to gauge supporter opinion ahead of Garnacho's return to United and asked fans to share their thoughts, provided they were sensible, on social media.

@creedthered: "For someone who was given a long leash at Utd, he’s shown that he doesn’t deserve it. I remember Ten Hag, Bruno and other senior members talking about how he needed to change his attitude when he wasn’t a first regular. And for a second it looked like he did, but old habits die hard."

@fcmuAhmed: "Great talent and while he’s inconsistent, I believe the level of expectations is way too high for him, even though the chaos at United is well documented. Constant change of managers is never helpful, especially for young players. He’d have performed so much better at a well-managed team."

@chiragcp1982: "Shame young talent had to leave, but think his attitude and ego had got too big to the stage where he thought he was the best player at the club. Some of his performances last season were awful. Poor finishing, real lack of creativity from wide areas or when he played at 10."

@AmarVijh999: "Happy that he left as he didn’t represent the club in the right way. Speaking after a loss and making it about you is selfish, and that selfishness was seen more and more over his three years. He’s more interested in modelling than football. I will never see him as an academy player."

@TheUnitedLad541: "He is exactly what is wrong with the post-Fergie club. Good riddance."

Garnacho was named on the bench for Chelsea's defeat to Bayern Munich earlier in the week. He is yet to start a game for Chelsea and might be limited to a bench role again at Old Trafford on Saturday.

We will hear what United fans think about Garnacho if he makes an appearance.

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