Ruben Amorim has told Alejandro Garnacho that he can leave Manchester United this summer.
The United boss is understood to have given Garnacho the news during a meeting at the club’s Carrington training base on Saturday. The club have declined to comment.
United rejected a bid from Napoli for Garnacho in January but will listen to offers in the region of £60-70million. Selling him would generate 100 per cent profit for the club under financial fair play rules.
It is unclear if Garnacho will be in the squad for the final game of the season against Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday or United’s post-season tour of Malaysia and Hong Kong.
The 20-year-old Argentina winger was unhappy to be left on the bench for more than 70 minutes of United’s defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final on Wednesday night, and said he will weigh up his options. Garnacho’s brother Roberto also accused Amorim of ‘throwing him under the bus’ in Bilbao.
‘Obviously it’s hard for everyone,’ said Garnacho at the San Mames. ‘Our season was s***. We didn’t beat anyone in the league. We lacked a lot of things. When you don’t score goals, you always need more.
‘Until we reached the final, I played every round. And I played 20 minutes today – I don’t know. I’m going to try to enjoy the summer and see what happens next.’
Garnacho has had an uneasy relationship with Amorim despite working his way back into the team after he was axed for the Manchester derby in December for a show of dissent to his head coach during a Europa League tie in Plzen three days’ earlier.
Man United boss Ruben Amorim has reportedly told Alejandro Garnacho to look for a new club
Alejandro Garnacho and his brother have reacted angrily to him being left out of the starting XI
Garnacho started Manchester United’s Europa League final on the bench on Wednesday night
On Saturday, Amorim was asked about the futures of Garnacho and captain Bruno Fernandes – who is considering a huge offer from Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia – ahead of the Villa game.
He replied: ‘I will speak with my players but the focus is the last game. I don’t know what is going to happen. We have a plan. We were prepared for both situations, with Champions League and without. We have an idea type of squad we want, but we still have the last game. We have time to address all these situations.
‘We have this game against Villa and we need to focus on that. It is not over. We want to finish in a good way in front of our supporters. Then, after, we will assess the squad. We know what we want to do. We will deal with that when the season is finished.’
Garnacho had been outspoken after the Europa League final, with the Argentine having been brought on for only the final 20 minutes of Man United’s 1-0 defeat by Tottenham.
‘I played every round to help the team reach the final, and today I only got 20 minutes,’ the Argentine told the media, as per AlbicelesteTalk.
On his own future, Garnacho added: ‘I don’t know. I will try to enjoy the summer and then see what happens.’
Garnacho had earlier hinted that he too disagreed with Amorim’s decision just hours before the final.
The forward had posted a memory of him scoring in the Red Devils’ FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City last season, back when Erik ten Hag was manager.
His agent brother furiously criticised Ruben Amorim’s decision to drop him on social media
The star posted an image of him scoring in last season’s FA Cup final just hours before kick-off
United forward Garnacho pictured with his younger brother agent Roberto (right) on Instagram
His agent brother also hit out at Amorim’s team selection for the match in a post on social media.
Reacting to his exclusion and Manchester United’s defeat, Garnacho’s brother and agent Roberto caused a stir by taking to social media to laugh at Amorim’s decision to bench him.
‘Working as no one else, helping every round, coming from two goals in the last two finals, just to be on the pitch for 19 mins and get thrown under the bus. [Wow] hahahahahaha,’ he wrote on Instagram.
United rejected an offer from Napoli for the Argentina winger in January but could listen to offers of between £60m and £70m this summer.
Meanwhile, Mail Sport revealed Bruno Fernandes has been set a deadline of next week to decide whether he wants to leave for Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in a £200m deal.
‘I will speak with my players but the focus is the last game,’ Amorim said.
‘I don’t know what is going to happen. We have a plan. We were prepared for both situations, with Champions League and without. We have an idea type of squad we want, but we still have the last game. We have time to address all these situations.
‘We have this game against Villa and we need to focus on that. It is not over. We want to finish in a good way in front of our supporters.. Then, after, we will assess the squad. We know what we want to do. We will deal with that when the season is finished.’
The Argentine forward previously found himself in hot water when he shared a picture of his substitution after Manchester United’s Premier League win over Ipswich in February
Garnacho, 20, and his younger brother have a history of posting petulant remarks and messages on social media when the Argentine is out of favour with the manager.
The forward found himself in hot water back in February after he posted a picture looking disappointed at being substituted during Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Ipswich Town.
The behaviour of Garnacho and his brother is believed to have raised concerns previously within Old Trafford, with the Ipswich incident leading to an apology from the player.
Amorim also revealed after the post in February that Garnacho had offered to buy his team-mates dinner to make amends for his behaviour online.
‘He came to me,’ said the United boss at the time. ‘It was funny because the next day he came to my office.
‘I did some investigations; he went to the dressing-room, changed his clothes because he was wet, he watched the game, not on the bench, and at the end of the game he was there and went home.
‘There’s not an issue. But I told him that at Manchester United everything is important and perception at a big club is really important. He is going to pay a dinner for all the team and that is it.
‘I think it is completely different for the players,’ Amorim continued.
Amorim later said that Garnacho planned to buy dinner for the team to apologise for the post
‘Before it was just two newspapers and nothing more. Now there is social media, they are so focused on it. You cannot go to it without seeing news and a photo.
‘There can be a hundred things and one bad thing, and they focus on that. There can be criticism and they need help to deal with that. It is modern football.
‘I think he understands. They read everything, all the small things. I know the players quite well, I understand they are frustrated. He was subbed, he was playing well. I am just trying to help them to be better players.’