Man United player Garnacho apologizes for liking critical posts about Ten Hag

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This article was published 19/04/2024 (897 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Alejandro Garnacho apologized for liking social media posts criticizing Erik ten Hag, the Manchester United manager said on Friday.

Garnacho ‘liked’ comments on X that called into question Ten Hag’s handling of the Argentine forward. He later ‘unliked’ them, but not before his actions were screen grabbed and shared on the platform.

“Alejandro is a young player, he has to learn a lot. He apologized for it and after that we move on,” Ten Hag said at news conference ahead of United’s FA Cup semifinal against Coventry on Sunday.

The posts were made after Garnacho was substituted at halftime of United’s 2-2 draw against Bournemouth last week.

One described Ten Hag’s treatment of him as a “joke.”

Also this season, Jadon Sancho went on social media to claim he was made a scapegoat after being omitted from the squad for a game against Arsenal. Sancho was made to train alone and did not feature again for United before being sent on loan to Borussia Dortmund.

Sancho has gone on to rediscover some of his best form in Germany and has helped Dortmund advance to the Champions League semifinals, raising questions about the wisdom of Ten Hag’s decision to allow him to leave.

“We know Jadon Sancho is a fantastic football player, so that is not a surprise for us, that is not the issue,” he said. “Of course, I follow international football and follow the players on loan at other clubs.

“It was a fantastic game, Dortmund against Atletico Madrid, great performance from Dortmund and for Jadon it’s good news.”

Ten Hag also defended the decision to buy Casemiro last season, despite the Brazil midfielder’s disappointing form and injury-hit campaign this year.

Casemiro joined from Real Madrid in a $60 million move. After initially impressing, he has struggled to make an impact.

“We needed the six when I arrived here and last season Casemiro was fantastic,” Ten Hag said. “I don’t think he ever scored so many goals as well but as a six, a holding midfielder, as a strategist, he was so important for the team.

“He is a fighter, (that’s) why he also won big trophies, he’s a personality and he’s a very important player and he will give us success.”

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer