Manchester United are set to sell Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea. Let’s break down what it all means.
Alejandro Garnacho is leaving Manchester United to sign with Chelsea in a £40 million deal. There will be a 10 per cent sell-on clause.
Here is a look at the winners and losers from Manchester United’s fourth highest sale of all time.
Winner
Ruben Amorim: Alejandro Garnacho’s exit brings to an end a saga that has dragged on since last December, when Ruben Amorim left him out of the squad for the derby.
Garnacho was brought back into the side but struggled to find form in Amorim’s system, and showed his immaturity with an outburst following the Europa League Final defeat, where he was a substitute.
Amorim told Garnacho he had no future under him, with the winger omitted from pre-season preparations.
While the head coach is under pressure, this is one battle he has won, with Manchester United getting rid of a player he feels is a poor fit for him in every sense.
Alejandro Garnacho chases the ball down, wearing United shirt
Photo by Molly Darlington/Copa/Getty Images
Chelsea: Unfortunately, Chelsea have got the better of Manchester United in this negotiation, thanks to Garnacho’s complete insistence to only consider them and no other offers.
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The £40 million sale is poor in this current market, when Anthony Elanga has just been sold for £55 million to Newcastle.
Chelsea have bought Garnacho below his market value, which we suspect is part of the attraction. They will likely sell him for a profit in two years.
Losers
Ineos: This is a deal where Ineos can just about save face and say they have a high sale by United’s previous standards, and that it is all profit for PSR.
Yet it is quite clear that £40 million for Alejandro Garnacho was not what they were expecting, having wanted as much as £70 million entering the summer.
The ‘bomb squad’ strategy may not have helped, and along with the Antony and Marcus Rashford situations, it’s clear that clubs see United as an institution than can be bartered down to letting assets leave on the cheap.
Alejandro Garnacho disappointed after the Europa League final
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Alejandro Garnacho: We fear that Alejandro Garnacho has made the biggest mistake of his career with the way he has blown up his Manchester United career through 2025.
He has no guaranteed starting role at Chelsea, competing with fellow new signing Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, and we suspect he chose his next club out of a desire to prove United wrong.
Garnacho snubbed interest from Bayern Munich to focus on his Chelsea move, and that could become a major regret if his time in London does not go as planned.
Manchester United fans: Alejandro Garnacho was a player Manchester United had incredibly high hopes for after he progressed through the academy.
United were proud of the success Garnacho enjoyed after snapping him up at 16 from Atletico Madrid. He succeeded where several foreign imports failed.
Garnacho can be an electrifying player, a Manchester United player in style who gets fans off their feet, and it is clear something has gone badly wrong that he is now a Chelsea player.
Many young United fans idolised Garnacho and hoped he could be this generation’s Ronaldo. And while those expectations were too high to reach, it will be a bitter pill to see him succeed at Chelsea, especially if he does so against United.
2022 FA Youth Cup legacy: There is no taking away Manchester United’s 2022 FA Youth Cup success, but the players remaining from that squad are running out.
Kobbie Mainoo is now the only player from the 2022 winners now in the United first team, but even that has a question mark, amid his desire to leave on loan to play regularly.