Alejandro Garnacho's Man United future was plunged into major doubt after he was benched for the Europa League final.
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16:30, 24 May 2025
Garnacho and Amorim post-match on Tuesday
Garnacho and Amorim post-match on Tuesday
Alejandro Garnacho has been told he can leave Manchester United in the summer if they receive an acceptable offer.
Garnacho's representatives have held discussions with United about the winger's future in the wake of the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday. United have been approached for comment.
United coach Ruben Amorim benched Garnacho, who effectively confirmed his substitute status hours before the final when he uploaded an image of him scoring in last year's FA Cup final onto his Instagram account.
After a bright cameo in Bilbao, Garnacho lamented United's "s**t" season and questioned Amorim's decision to bench him. The 20-year-old added "we'll see" when his future was raised. Garnacho's brother, Roberto, claimed he had been "thrown under a bus".
When asked about Garnacho on Saturday, Amorim said: "I always speak to my players, but the focus now is on the last game. I don't know what is going to happen.
"We have a plan and we prepared for both situations, with Champions League and without. We have an idea what type of squad we want, but now we have to focus on the last game and we will have time address all of those situations."
United rejected a £40million offer from Italian champions Napoli for Garnacho in the winter transfer window and he is under contract at United until 2028. The club is expected to hold out for a higher fee than what Napoli offered.
Garnacho was listed among a handful of United players not for sale last year but the arrival of Amorim has largely worked against the Argentina international. Garnacho has started 25 times under Amorim and made 15 more appearances off the bench.
Amorim dropped Garnacho and Marcus Rashford from the Manchester derby squad on December 15 on account of their attitude. Rashford has not played for United since but Garnacho was picked in every matchday squad.
After Garnacho was substituted in the first half of United's win against Ipswich Town in February, he headed straight down the tunnel. Amorim later said Garnacho had offered to pay for a team dinner by way of an apology.
Until the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea last Friday, Garnacho had not started two successive games on the bench since January. The return of Amad from injury and prominence of Mason Mount convinced Amorim to start them ahead of Garnacho in the 1-0 loss to Tottenham.
As recently as two weeks ago, Garnacho flanked Amorim at the pre-match press conference for United's Europa League semi-final second leg with Athletic Bilbao. Garnacho started in all six knockout ties before the final.
"Up until the final I played every round helping the team and today I play 20 minutes, I don't know," Garnacho complained on Wednesday. "The final will influence [my decision] but the whole season, the situation of the club. I'm going to try to enjoy the summer and see what happens afterwards."
Garnacho has operated as one of the two playmakers in Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system and United expect to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolves. Mount, Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo are among the other existing options.
United co-chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe said in March no player would be sold for financial reasons when the futures of Garnacho and Mainoo were raised. Garnacho would represent a pure profit for United under the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules, having come through their academy.
Garnacho joined United from Atletico Madrid at the age of 16 in 2020. He scored seven goals, including two in the final, of their last FA Youth Cup triumph in 2022 and made his first-team debut in April of that year under Ralf Rangnick.
Garnacho has played 144 times for United and scored 26 goals.