Alejandro Garnacho's social media posts are harming his career: Tempestuous Argentine has angered Man Utd fans with Marcus Rashford alliance and now risks following England forward in wasting his talent

Garnacho’s post went down terribly with United fans online. ‘His ego is ridiculous’ was one reaction on X while he was also called ‘a weirdo’. ‘Flaunting a lifestyle that the club has provided for him, while also throwing shade at that club and their fans. Crazy ego, get him out,’ was a standout comment on Reddit. Another post read: 'It’s petulant and childish and shows exactly why the manager wants him to go. If he wants to leave the club, he can, literally the only thing stopping him is himself.’

One comment hit the nail on the head: ‘So dumb. Some players would be better off having no social media.’ That certainly seems to be the case with Garnacho, who has had a short career but a long history of online mis-steps that have landed him in varying degrees of trouble.

Garnacho’s online activity first raised eyebrows in 2023 when he posted two gorilla emojis above a picture of Andre Onana celebrating his penalty save against Copenhagen. The post risked being interpreted as racially motivated and against the FA’s social media guidelines, although Onana said he had no problem with it and that Garnacho was using the emojis to express the goalkeeper’s strength and power. Garnacho hastily deleted the posts and got away with a clip round the ear, avoiding the fine and ban that Bernardo Silva and Edinson Cavani had received in previous years.

But he did not learn his lesson to modify his social media activity. Months later, Garnacho liked a post from a fan criticising Erik ten Hag’s management, which was a kick in the teeth to the coach who had given him his opportunity in the first team and kept on picking him despite his young age and rawness. He also got away with that one after apologising to Ten Hag, who reacted by saying: "Alejandro is a young player and has to learn a lot," yet only five months later, Garnacho liked another post criticising the Dutchman, this time from Cristiano Ronaldo.

His misjudgements continued when Amorim succeeded Ten Hag, and Garnacho was left out of the squad along with Rashford for the Manchester derby in December due to showing a bad attitude in training. He was, however, then reinstated to the team and praised by Amorim for his improved focus.

All that progress was derailed when Garnacho stormed down the tunnel after being substituted by Amorim when United were reduced to 10 men against Ipswich Town, and he paid a big price for his petulance as he apologised by paying for a squad dinner. The final straw for Amorim, though, was Garnacho’s reaction to not starting the Europa League final, both his stroppy post-match interview and his brother Roberto’s Instagram post, in which he accused Amorim of throwing the winger under a bus.

Two days later, Amorim told Garnacho in front of the squad at training that he had "better pray" another club wanted to sign him and left him out for the final match of the season against Aston Villa. Garnacho’s girlfriend, in keeping with the family’s love for revealing too much on social media, said that the match would be her last at Old Trafford.

While it is true that United have long seen Garnacho as a player they wanted to cash in on, he has effectively kicked himself out of the club due to his ill-advised comments on social media and in interviews. His teenage brother, Roberto, has not helped matters, as he has repeatedly spouted off after United defeats, and has become so outspoken that some journalists mistakenly assumed he was the players’ agent.

Garnacho is in fact represented by Spanish agents Carlos Cambeiro and Quique de Lucas. They have managed his career well and it should not be forgotten that he has not yet turned 21. But they have not been able to keep his social media use in check, and the player’s insistence on causing a stir online could well be his downfall. The words of Paul Scholes come to mind: "Stop talking on the social media and start playing."

Garnacho was a thrilling prospect when he burst into the United team in 2022-23, ending it with five goals and five assists in all competitions despite mostly playing as a substitute. When GOAL profiled him during that season, United’s head of academy Nick Cox was careful to state that Garnacho had not “made it” and warned that the then-18-year-old "has a lot of development ahead of him."

He locked down his place in the starting line-up the following season and scored the Premier League Goal of the Season against Everton, as well as the opener in the FA Cup final victory over Manchester City. Garnacho finished the campaign with 10 goals and seven assists, an excellent platform for his third season. Last season, meanwhile, was his most productive season, with 11 goals and 10 assists, but some important footnotes are needed.

Six of his 21 goal contributions came in two Carabao Cup games, against Barnsley and Leicester City, while Garnacho just scored six times in the Premier League, with half of them coming against relegated sides. He has not kicked on as much as he should have done, and it feels like he fell into the trap Cox had warned of, believing he had ‘made it’ before he had.

Garnacho’s first Premier League goal for United was a last-gasp winner at Fulham which brought back memories of Ronaldo’s goal at Craven Cottage in 2007. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner had set up Garnacho’s first senior goal for the club weeks earlier at Real Sociedad. and it is no secret that Ronaldo was the player Garnacho had idolised as a child growing up in Madrid.

He has mimicked all of Ronaldo’s major celebrations, which has left him open to ridicule on some occasions, particularly from his Argentina team-mates and left him in an awkward position whenever the Lionel Messi vs Ronaldo debate is raised. Even withstanding Ronaldo’s petulant moments with United, such as when he refused to come on as a substitute and his controversial interview with Piers Morgan, there are not many better role models than Ronaldo when it comes to achievement and self-improvement.

Rashford, however, is not the example Garnacho should be following. The England international enjoyed the best season of his career in 2022-23, the same year as when Garnacho broke through, scoring 30 goals on his way to landing a massive contract which put him amongst the club’s highest earners.

However, Rashford followed that with a dismal season in which he scored only eight goals in all competitions and made headlines for off-the-pitch activity, such as visiting a nightclub after the derby defeat by Manchester City and then missing training after his debauched two-night stint in the bars and clubs of Belfast. He lost his place in the England squad as a result, and then in January he lost his place at United after falling out with Amorim.

The cause was reported to be Rashford going on a night out two days before the home win over Everton, and Amorim’s opinion of the striker was so low that he claimed he would rather field his 63-year-old, overweight goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital over Rashford because of the effect it would have on the squad’s morale.

Rashford showed signs of life on loan at Villa, but it was not been the great rebirth it is sometimes made out as. Rashford was absent for the run-in with a muscle injury but did not miss a social event as he still attended a boxing fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium just days after being ruled out for the season.

Rashford is also no closer to finding a permanent home as clubs turn away from United’s reported asking price of £40 million ($53.7m). The fact that his career has gone downhill just as it looked set to properly take off is surely a big reason why, and there is a danger of clubs taking a look at Garnacho, who would be available for around £60m ($80.5m), and being put off by his attitude.

Garnacho and Rashford’s social media alliance brought back memories of Amorim’s response to the Argentine’s sulky response to being taken off against Ipswich in February. Intriguingly, when asked about Garnacho’s attitude by a journalist, the coach said “You are making the comparison with Rashford.” The journalist had done no such thing, but the fact that Amorim had brought Rashford up said a lot.

Garnacho is now heading for the same exit door as Rashford, and it is not in his interest to be put in the same category as him. In 2023, the pair were on the path to greatness at United, but now they are on their way out.

Rashford is unlikely to ever reach those same heights in his career, but Garnacho is six years younger and still has plenty of time to fully reach his potential. But now more than ever, he needs to learn from his mistakes and stop building a reputation as someone whose words, particularly on social media, speak louder than his actions on the pitch.