'Too easy of an excuse' - Scott McTominay gives his verdict on claims players improve after leaving Man Utd

The 29-year-old midfielder is a product of the Red Devils’ famed academy system. Having been given his big break by Jose Mourinho, McTominay went on to make 255 appearances for United. He scored 29 goals and helped them to FA Cup and League Cup triumphs.

Having struggled to nail down a regular position, while often being asked to fill a holding role in the Red Devils’ engine room, McTomiany embraced the opportunity to head for Italy in the summer of 2024 - with a £26 million ($35m) transfer being agreed.

His debut campaign in Naples delivered a top-flight title, a career-best return of 13 goals and a history-making Player of the Year prize. McTominay has also helped to fire Scotland to their first World Cup since 1998.

He is not the only player with ties to United that has been starring of late, with Rasmus Hojlund finding the target on seven occasions alongside McTominay at Napoli this season. Marcus Rashford is enjoying a new lease of life at Barcelona, while Antony - who was an £85m ($114m) flop at Old Trafford - has become a cult hero with Real Betis.

Quizzed by CBS Sports on why so many of those that stagnated in Manchester have burst into life elsewhere, McTominay said: "It's too easy of an excuse to say, 'Oh they left Man United and now they're doing well.' In my last year, I did well - I scored 10 goals and we won a trophy.

"With Marcus, obviously there were different issues which might have transpired that we won't go into. However, Marcus is a top player and he's always been a top player, he's one of the club legends, he's scored so many goals for Man United, done so many great things.

"Because the spotlight is directly on you, it makes it seem a lot worse in my opinion. Obviously, when players go away and they play more games, they're going to have an increase in confidence and feel better about themselves rather than playing less minutes at Man United for example. But when you are at Man United, you have to earn those minutes like Bruno Fernandes, who has done incredible."

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Pressed on whether certain individuals are happy to have escaped the spotlight that they found themselves operating under at United, McTominay added: "Potentially, yeah, but there are also some players who leave who people don't speak about so much. But there also players who everyone speaks about.

"It depends on the individual and for me, I think it's too easy an excuse to blame Man United as a club. Because whenever I was there, they did everything for me. They helped with my nutrition, training, tactically - everything is put there for you to succeed. It's not like they don't give you certain things that other clubs do.

"The myth of they go away and they're better players comes down to confidence. If you go away and you play every single game and you score, and then you score again, and then people start speaking, you feel good about yourself and you want to continue in that way."

Plenty of uncomfortable questions have been asked of why United are struggling to bring the best out of performers that are clearly talented. They have faced criticism for allowing the likes of McTominay to move on, with the 13-time Premier League champions still scratching around for consistency under Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim.

It has been suggested that moves could be made to bring McTominay back to his roots, but he is tied to a long-term contract through to 2028 and it would take a sizable offer to tempt Napoli into a sale. He is also happy at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona alongside ‘Queen of Italy’ girlfriend Cam Reading.