Photo by Aston Villa/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images
Photo by Aston Villa/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images
Alejandro Garnacho’s life has come full circle in the worst possible way, and it’s even more embarrassing now for him.
There is a feeling that Alejandro Garnacho is on his last chance saloon in elite football after Chelsea discarded him in just one season.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa took a punt on him, but he has struggled to get going at all so far.
Now he’s suffering the exact same fate he burned bridges at Man Utd for. Only this time, the circumstances are even more embarrassing.
Hull City v Aston Villa FC - Premier League 2026/27
Photo by Stewart Kendall/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Alejandro Garnacho has gone missing at Aston Villa
Garnacho’s fall at Old Trafford was as meteoric as his rise, as Ruben Amorim’s appointment saw him get frozen out as quickly as he broke through under Erik ten Hag.
However, unlike Marcus Rashford, Garnacho made his way back into the team and remained a key part until the end of the 2024/25 season.
He burned his bridges at the club after the Europa League Final, openly questioning the club and the manager for not playing him enough.
There was no coming back from that transgression, and he was promptly frozen out and shipped off to Chelsea.
After burning his bridges at United for demanding more playing time, Garnacho is suffering the exact same fate at Villa.
The Argentine has played a grand total of 31 minutes of football in Villa’s last five games and has been ignored completely in their last two.
Avram Glazer, co-owner of Manchester United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, co-owner of Manchester United, Omar Berrada, chief-executive officer of Manchester United, and Jason Wilcox, director of football at Manchester United, watch on during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on September 13, 2026 in Manchester, England.
Avram Glazer, co-owner of Manchester United, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, co-owner of Manchester United, Omar Berrada, chief-executive officer of Manchester United, and Jason Wilcox, director of football at Manchester United, watch on during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on September 13, 2026 in Manchester, England.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that, with the benefit of hindsight, Garnacho is probably yearning for days when United at least trusted him off the bench regularly.
His life has come full circle, with the only difference being that he doesn’t even have the power anymore to demand more minutes because he’s on his last chance anyway.
Garnacho’s Villa situation is even more embarrassing
At least United could point to their sparkling academy record and prior trust in him to show that he has a pathway at the club.
Moreover, the standard at United is naturally higher than at Villa, so there was a genuine argument to be made that United were easing him into things.
Getting fewer minutes as a teenager at United is much more understandable than being in this situation at Villa at 22 years old.
Garnacho has regressed massively, which makes his situation even more embarrassing.
Furthermore, at least Garnacho could point to Amorim just not liking him for a lack of minutes at Utd (which were still more than what he’s getting at Villa!).
In contrast, Emery has him in the dark, as the Spaniard keeps praising him in public but refuses to trust him when it comes to backing up those words with actions.
Garnacho simply doesn’t know where he stands, either with Chelsea or with Villa, as the latter could simply be trying to keep his value up but use him in a way that the conditional obligation to buy him does not trigger.
At least he was a misguided exciting player at United. Now, he’s simply a pawn in a game between two clubs, both of whom want nothing to do with him.