Fat b*stard chants, Harambe tweets and relegation: USMNT star Weston McKennie's Leeds move was an absolute disaster

It feels so long ago now, but you do have to remember the excitement that came with McKennie's arrival. Here came a legitimate star midfielder, one that had played in the Champions League with Juventus. Leeds fans were, rightfully, excited to see McKennie link up with his international team-mate, Tyler Adams, who had already established himself as a rising Premier League star.

At the World Cup, McKennie and Adams formed a midfield that bossed the likes of Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham in the USMNT's clash with England. Those two at the center of Leeds midfield - what could go wrong?

Well, as it turns out, pretty much everything can and did go wrong, and it went wrong very quickly.

Just days into McKennie's Leeds tenure, Jesse Marsch, the man that signed him, was gone. Hindsight tells us that, while Marsch wasn't perfect, what ended up happening at Leeds wasn't completely his fault. However, with Leeds slipping into yet another relegation fight, the American coach was sent packing as the club decided for a shakeup.

Even without Marsch, though, McKennie's initial impressions weren't bad. He never quite looked like the all-action dynamo that we saw at the World Cup, but he was still solid enough. With Adams behind him, McKennie knew what he could and couldn't do, which is always a good start when joining a new team.

And then Adams disappeared. A hamstring injury, a total disaster. It ultimately ruined Leeds' season. Adams' absence was effectively the deathblow for Leeds, who never found a way to balance a midfield without him. With Adams out, the defense was left unprotected and the goals poured in.

McKennie, meanwhile, was miscast, played next to Marc Roca as a holding midfielder. That isn't and likely will never be his game. McKennie is a No.8 or a wide midfielder, not a pure No.6. His game, and Leeds, suffered for it.

The fans, meanwhile, grew tired of McKennie's lackluster performance and he emerged as one of several scapegoats for a fanbase that was beginning to accept the inevitable: that their Premier League tenure was coming to an end.

By the end of McKennie's tenure, the abuse had been going on for weeks. A quick look at any section of Leeds Twitter would show that the club's fanbase was all but fed up with their loan star.

McKennie's performances were a large part of it, although Leeds never played to his strengths in any way. So too was an incident involving a supposed friend of the midfielder's who took to Twitter Spaces to take shots at the club. After those comments, which many Leeds fans felt represented McKennie's own views, there was no coming back, even after a statement from the player denying any involvement.

From that point forward, the atmosphere grew toxic. McKennie's weight was a frequent jab from supporters online, while others simply targeted his actual ability. Regardless, you'd be hard-pressed to find any positive interactions involving the midfielder outside of the Americans on social media racing to defend their young star.

The friend in question, Diego Mendoza, did little to shy away from the controversy, though, as he continued to antagonize Leeds fans with tweets, retweets and Twitter Spaces appearances right up until the end of McKennie's tenure. One retweet from Mendoza claimed that McKennie should flip off Leeds fans on his way out the door.

Overall, it appears that McKennie's inability to keep his circle tight backfired on him, and Leeds fans made sure he never forgot it.

McKennie's final day, though, was worst of all. The "fat b*stard" chants were just one part of it. After the match, while graciously taking a photo with young Leeds fans, McKennie was once again targeted by abuse, spoiling what should have been a memorable moment for the kids involved.

Even McKennie's departure drew criticism, as fans that once said they couldn't wait to see him exit the club then criticized him for leaving too hastily. After video footage emerged of McKennie on a train out of Leeds, supporters targeted the midfielder for seemingly not caring enough, as if leaving the city was any indication of the effort he put in over the last five months.

By the time he boarded that train, it was totally apparent that there was nothing McKennie could do right in the eyes of Leeds supporters. Everyone involved was done with this situation, and rightfully so.

However, despite all of the toxicity, there was one moment in this mess that united everyone for a laugh, no matter their opinions on McKennie or his stay. The midfielder's father, John, who had been in Yorkshire supporting his son, took to social media to fire off one last tweet of appreciation for those that supported the midfielder during his time at Leeds.

"All the best to LUFC!" he said. "For those who supported Weston in a hostile environment you have my respect! For those who failed to remember it’s a team sport you live to fight another day."

A wholesome message supporting his son, of course, but also one that saw the elder McKennie accidentally quote a tweet commemorating the death of Harambe.

Hilarity ensued, of course, as many Leeds fans, bitter from relegation, were able to see the funny side of it all. The McKennie family's goodbye message being posted alongside a memorial for an infamous zoo animal - who could have seen that coming?

McKennie will now head back to Juventus while looking ahead to his next career move. He'll be playing somewhere next season, and it surely won't be Leeds. If the Whites had remained in the Premier League, the club could have activated a €34 million clause to purchase the midfield. But, even if they had sealed survival, both sides likely would have looked to go their separate ways.

It appears McKennie will have no shortage of suitors, with Brighton and Aston Villa among those linked. The latter, alongside Fulham, were finalists for his services in January before McKennie decided to join up with Adams, Marsch and Brenden Aaronson in Yorkshire.

A return to Juventus is also a possibility, depending on what happens at the club. Juve are going through their own rough patch due to their legal issues and there's a chance McKennie could be useful if the Bianconeri can't sign the players they want this summer.

McKennie has also been linked with a return to Germany, where there's still a high opinion of the American. It was at Schalke that McKennie originally rose to prominence, and several Bundesliga clubs will no doubt be taking a look at him this summer.

It'll be a big transfer window for McKennie, who will have a massive decision to make. The Leeds experiment is over, and he'll be thankful for that fact, but this next move will go a long way towards determining the trajectory of his career.

He'll be 25 at the start of next season, no longer a young player but not quite in his prime either. He will likely spend his best years at whatever club he chooses next as he looks to evolve on the road to the 2026 World Cup.

McKennie can't afford to miss again in the manner he did with Leeds. His reputation has taken a hit, but there are still many clubs that think highly of him. One more misstep and that goodwill will disappear. He may have survived his disastrous loan spell at Leeds, even if the club didn't, but now it's time to see what McKennie learned from what will hopefully be the worst six months of his career.