Alejandro Garnacho was adamant in the summer about how Chelsea were the only club for him, but a nightmare scenario is unfolding for him, and he can’t say he wasn’t warned.
Manchester United were put in an extremely difficult position in the summer by Alejandro Garnacho after he made it clear that he would only join Chelsea.
Not only that, but Garnacho was willing to sit on the bench at Old Trafford for months if he didn’t get the Chelsea move, a quite extraordinary step for a developing player.
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As it turns out, the nightmare scenario he was threatening for United is his reality now, only that it’s happening at Chelsea instead.
Alejandro Garnacho of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea at City Ground on October 18, 2025
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Alejandro Garnacho had it good at Man Utd
Without taking credit away from Garnacho, who played some brilliant games for United and was often the ray of hope in difficult seasons, the holistic picture is less rosy.
The reality is that he was the saviour of a flawed team, which resulted in his own flaws being masked, leading to a “saviour syndrome”.
Garnacho had it good at United, playing more than 100 games for the club despite being extremely raw and limited in what he was good at.
At 18, even a player like Cristiano Ronaldo was being given the odd game here or there by Sir Alex Ferguson.
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That amount of playing time for a youngster as unproven and raw as Garnacho simply doesn’t happen at most clubs, and that might have led to the Argentine overestimating his qualities and readiness as a player.
If that was the case, then Chelsea are leaving no stone unturned in giving him a reality check.
Garnacho’s Chelsea nightmare is coming true
Garnacho was warned before he made the Chelsea move that he was making a big mistake, and how Chelsea probably viewed him as a stressed asset with upside who they could flip for profit later.
Still, that nightmare has happened quicker than anyone imagined, with the player standing at just 273 minutes played in all competitions so far.
His latest snub came in the 5-1 win against Ajax, which is a damning indictment on the player because he wasn’t even deemed worthy of an appearance when the game was in their grasp.
He’s yet to score for the club, and the collection of wingers in Chelsea’s ranks isn’t helping, nor will their recruitment slow down any time soon.
Even more damning is the fact that teams like Bayern Munich were interested in Garnacho, where Vincent Kompany has worked wonders as a winger whisperer and given youth a chance.
For some reason, Garnacho rejected them and moved to Chelsea, when all the warning signs were screaming at him about the red flags.
He’s in the middle of a nightmare that has his career in limbo, and he has nobody to blame but himself.