30/08/2025
What Manchester United have become, and what is actually happening, is the exact way to fix it.
Marcus Rashford melted the moment he needed to fight for his place following the arrival of Ruben Amorim. He would rather leave for Aston Villa to be a squad player, and then become a starter, but not to play every minute. He dumped Villa, then switched to Barcelona to be a bench player for 40-year-old Lewandowski. He would rather be a squad player at Barca than fight for his place at United.
Alejandro Garnacho followed the same steps. He questioned Amorim's decision to bench him in the Europa League final. He believed he should be a starter at United, but Amorim thought otherwise. He's joined Chelsea, where his starting role isn't guaranteed.
Kobbie Mainoo is the latest now. He has asked the club to let him leave because of more playing time. He's eyeing the World Cup, which is within his rights.
However, he cannot go to the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid and become a regular or get more playing time than he'd get at Man United.
His next club would be from Aston Villa and Newcastle United, who already have their main midfielders for the roles he'd want to occupy. So playing more minutes in these two clubs isn't even guaranteed.
Impatience kills a career. And I will give you a decent example, maybe two.
Scott McTominay broke through the ranks and became a regular starter under Jose Mourinho. Following the sacking of Jose, he had to fight for his place again under Ole, where he had the likes of Matic, Pogba, Herrera and Fernandes as competitors for his role. He never handed a request.
Some fans wanted him out, saying he's not a good passer or tackler, and even nicknamed him McFred alongside Fred, the two people who did more than we expected from them, given their individual qualities. They were happy to be squad players, and yet when they had the chance to pair, they helped United finish 2nd and 3rd under Ole.
Erik ten Hag entered and signed Casemiro. Did McTominay or Fred hand in a transfer request? No. They wanted to fight because they knew the importance of being a Red.
Their playing time reduced for sure, but they still wanted to stay and fight. Fred left against his will to Fenerbahce, McTominay never wanted to leave, but Napoli came with the right offer, and United let him go.
McTominay is now one of the Ballon d'Or nominees. He left because the club let him go. He's at peace with himself. He showed his quality in Italy, and he's not only a champion, but also has the chance to play alongside Kevin de Bruyne, who should even improve him better.
Mainoo is told that Fernandes is the one blocking him from playing more time, BOOM he's handed in a loan transfer request so he can play elsewhere, propably in a lower team.
Your true character is revealed when pressure is applied. One time he got the pressure, he wants to run away. That's fine by him. I initially said he doesn't fit into Ruben Amorim's plans, so if he's going, let his intension really be to make the squad and not to show United fans what he can do, because we already know and if that's it, he's done.
One thing about a loan move is that, your new admirers are watching, your parent club is also watching. If you don't hack it there, you are not coming back. Rashford and Sancho are proper examples.
I remembered Saul joined Chelsea from ATM on loan, and that's his story. Mainoo should know better. He's putting himself under massive pressure.
My advice for him; if he must leave Man United, let it be United are the ones pushing you away. Amorim wants you to stay, United the same. If you force it, and they let you go and at the end of your loan stay, you didn't impress. You're done for.
It's not about Amorim, but the club. Amorim doesn't have issue with Sancho, but Utd don't want Sancho back.
If he misses the upcoming world cup, he's 20 years of age. He has like four world cups ahead of him. His call.
