Graeme Souness has expressed his concern for one Manchester United star but also blasted two of his team-mates.
The Mail Sport columnist, appearing on talkSPORT argued that players at Old Trafford ‘get too much too soon’. Erik ten Hag’s side have endured a frustrating season as they lie seventh in the Premier League standings, and only barely reached the FA Cup final on penalties, after throwing away a 3-0 lead against Championship side Coventry City.
Alejando Garnacho has been one of Manchester United’s bright sparks of the season, but Souness highlighted his concerns for the teenage Argentine forward.
He told talkSPORT: ‘Garnacho for me is an exceptionally talented young man but I worry for him.
‘It’s just an observation, called me old-fashioned, call me a dinosaur, but he’s got two ear-rings in the warm-up, on the pitch.
‘He’s a young boy just learning the game. Coming back to the point that Joe Cole would have made about good senior pros, pointing out to younger guys how you live your life, how you act, how you train, your attitude to life.
‘And I just worry, it’s an age old thing, it’s not a new thing at Manchester United, they have always been the most glamorous football club in this country and just like Bayern Munich in Germany are called FC Hollywood, I think you can use the same term to talk about Manchester United.
‘They get too much too soon at Manchester United, that’s my take on it.’
Explaining his point, he went on to say that team-mate Marcus Rashford was an example of this, and claimed that his ability appears to be declining at the age of 26.
He said: ‘When we were the dominant team at Liverpool they (United) were the bigger stars than we were. They get so much attention Manchester United players and I think it’s to their detriment.
‘Especially the modern game when the kind of rewards these boys get, they get far too much far too soon and I think Rashford is a case in point.
‘He’s 26, should just be now approaching his best years but it looks like his best years are long gone.’
Souness also ripped into Antony for cupping his ears towards Coventry players after their FA Cup semi-final shootout win, commenting that United ‘didn’t knock out Real Madrid’.
When asked what his thoughts on the Brazilian’s actions were, he responded: ‘Naff.
‘Man United are a class act. But for a player to act like that it’s naff, it’s like you just don’t do that as a Man United player.
‘It wasn’t Real Madrid you’ve just knocked out. It was Coventry, a team from the Championship.
‘It’s not the first time I’ve seen it from him, doing daft stuff. All the daft stuff about Rashford not closing down properly, about antics on match-day, that’s all ironed out on the training ground. You get after them on the training ground and as a manager you encourage the senior players to get after them in the training ground.’
