Alejandro Garnacho has been omitted from Manchester United’s squad for their final game of the season – just hours after his partner appeared to confirm his departure with a cryptic two-word message to fans on social media.
The 20-year-old is set to depart Old Trafford this summer after being told he can leave by Ruben Amorim.
The United boss is understood to have given Garnacho the news during a meeting at the club’s Carrington training base on Saturday.
Garnacho’s partner, Eva Garcia, added fuel to the fire ahead of the Red Devils’ final match of the season against Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
She posted a picture of a baby-sized United kit alongside the words ‘last match’, accompanied by a tearful emoji and a heart on Instagram.
Garnacho appears to have played his last match for the club after he was left completely out of the squad for the visit of Unai Emery’s side.
Alejandro Garnacho has been omitted from Manchester United’s squad for their final game
Garnacho’s partner, Eva Garcia, had seemingly confirmed his exit earlier in the day
Garcia posted a picture of a baby-sized United kit alongside the words ‘last match’
Andre Onana (left), whose future is also uncertain, has likewise been left out of the squad
Amorim told TNT Sports: ‘Garnacho is a Manchester United player that is not in the squad today but continues to be a Manchester United player.’
Asked if the forward will travel with the squad for the post-season tour of Malaysia and Hong Kong, the United boss responded: ‘Yes. Everybody is going because we have to go to meet our fans and give something to our fans in the other side of the world.’
Goalkeeper Andre Onana, whose future at Manchester United is also uncertain, has likewise been left out of the squad.
Garnacho was unhappy to be left on the bench for more than 70 minutes of United’s defeat by Tottenham in the Europa League final on Wednesday night, and said he will weigh up his options. Garnacho’s brother Roberto also accused Amorim of ‘throwing him under the bus’ in Bilbao.
‘Obviously it’s hard for everyone,’ said Garnacho at the San Mames. ‘Our season was s***. We didn’t beat anyone in the league. We lacked a lot of things. When you don’t score goals, you always need more.
‘Until we reached the final, I played every round. And I played 20 minutes today – I don’t know. I’m going to try to enjoy the summer and see what happens next.’
Garnacho’s relationship with Amorim has remained tense, despite the winger forcing his way back into the side after being dropped for the Manchester derby in December – a punishment for showing dissent towards the head coach during a Europa League clash in Plzen just three days earlier.
United turned down a January bid from Napoli for Garnacho, but are now prepared to listen to offers in the region of £60–70 million.
Ruben Amorim is understood to have given Garnacho the news during a meeting at the club’s Carrington training base on Saturday
The winger was unhappy to be left on the bench for more than 70 minutes of United’s defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final
His agent brother furiously criticised Ruben Amorim’s decision to drop him on social media
A sale would represent pure profit under financial fair play rules, as the winger came through the club’s academy system.
In the build-up to the game, Amorim was asked about the futures of Garnacho and captain Bruno Fernandes – who is considering a huge offer from Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia – ahead of the Villa game.
He replied: ‘I will speak with my players but the focus is the last game. I don’t know what is going to happen. We have a plan. We were prepared for both situations, with Champions League and without. We have an idea type of squad we want, but we still have the last game. We have time to address all these situations.
‘We have this game against Villa and we need to focus on that. It is not over. We want to finish in a good way in front of our supporters. Then, after, we will assess the squad. We know what we want to do. We will deal with that when the season is finished.’
His agent brother also hit out at Amorim’s team selection for the match in a post on social media.
Reacting to his exclusion and Manchester United’s defeat, Garnacho’s brother and agent Roberto caused a stir by taking to social media to laugh at Amorim’s decision to bench him.
‘Working as no one else, helping every round, coming from two goals in the last two finals, just to be on the pitch for 19 mins and get thrown under the bus. [Wow] hahahahahaha,’ he wrote on Instagram.
