Players mocking managers has become something of a regular occurrence at Manchester United. Patrick Dorgu is the latest Red Devils star unable to resist a social media dig at his boss after ‘liking’ an Instagram post that questioned Ruben Amorim’s tactics last month.
Dorgu was dropped for Sunday’s 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace, although Amorim insisted the decision was purely football-related, highlighting the Dane’s nervousness in possession in recent games. He said: “He needs to be calmer playing the game. You can feel the anxiety every time Patrick touched the ball. I can feel it, the anxiety.”
Regardless of the reasons for Dorgu’s dropping, players making gestures about their managers is unhelpful at best and divisive at worst. But it’s not charted territory for a United boss.
Alejandro Garnacho landed himself in hot water with Amorim’s predecessor, Erik ten Hag, for similar behaviour. Garnacho had ‘liked’ a post on X which criticised Ten Hag for substituting him at half-time during United’s 2-2 draw at Bournemouth during the 2023/24 season.
Ten Hag played down the issue but confirmed the player had apologised. The Dutchman said: “Alejandro is a young player, he has to learn a lot. He apologised for it and after that we move on.”
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Garnacho clearly didn’t learn from his mistake – or just didn’t care – when he slammed Amorim’s decision to leave him on the bench for last season’s Europa League final against Tottenham.
Perhaps knowing his United career was coming to an end anyway, he fumed in a post-match interview: “Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know.
“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.”
To compound the issue, Garnacho’s brother and agent, Roberto, supported his comments with a pointed social media message. He posted on Instagram: “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. Wowe hahahahahaha.”
It was therefore a surprise to no one when Garnacho left for Chelsea in a £40million in the summer. While the Argentine has struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular, he is part of a Blues squad that looks capable of challenging Arsenal for the title.
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