15th July 2025
July 15 – Axel Tuanzebe, who walked through Manchester United’s gates at eight years old with starlight in his eyes, has returned as a 27-year-old man wielding High Court documents like weapons of war.
His legal claim, which is understood to be for more than £1 million, was filed last week against his former employers and concerns allegedly negligent medical advice dating back to July 2022 – when he spent 195 days sidelined by injury.
Tuanzebe, who captained the club at every level, joins a growing fraternity of players who’ve turned courtrooms into battlegrounds against their former clubs.
The defender’s final meaningful contribution with the Red Devils came in that heartbreaking 2021 Europa League final against Villarreal – scoring in the shootout as United lost 11-10 on penalties.
From Academy starlet to loan spells at Aston Villa, a brief courtship with Napoli and a five-game cameo for Stoke, Tuanzebe’s Old Trafford journey ended in disappointment.
Now at Burnley, attempting to rebuild what negligence allegedly destroyed, the boy who once embodied United’s future has become a cautionary tale of how quickly football’s fairy tales can sometimes turn into legal nightmares.
His lawyers and United both declined to comment, their silence speaking volumes in a world where words have become weapons.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at [moc.l1752570702labto1752570702ofdlr1752570702owedi1752570702sni@o1752570702fni1752570702](javascript:;)