Alejandro Garnacho accused of being a Cristiano Ronaldo ‘fanboy’ who has ‘let his family and the club down’ by ex-Man United star in astonishing attack

A former Manchester United star has launched a scathing attack on winger Alejandro Garnacho.

The Argentine forward arrived at Old Trafford in October 2020 as a 16-year-old, and there were high hopes that the winger could follow in Cristiano Ronaldo’s footsteps to become a club legend.

The pair played together when Ronaldo returned to United in 2021, but Garnacho’s career has stalled in the past 12 months amid disagreements with multiple managers. Garnacho liked a social media post criticising former United boss Erik ten Hag for taking him off against Bournemouth last year before subsequently apologising.

He then failed to hide his frustration at being substituted by Ruben Amorim last month after Patrick Dorgu was sent off in the first half of United’s 3-2 win over Ipswich.

Ex-United right back Paul Parker, who played for the club between 1991 and 1996 and won 19 caps for England, is concerned by Garnacho’s attitude, and has claimed he is consistently letting people down as he laughed off suggestions that Garnacho could ever reach Ronaldo’s level.

‘I liked him (Garnacho) when he came through and he had that Argentinian fire in his belly, which he has lost completely,’ Parker told SpilXperten. ‘He has let himself and his family down. He has let his club down, because he is not taking advantage of the talent he was supposed to have.

The Argentine winger has been accused of being a Cristiano Ronaldo ‘fanboy’

Former United star Paul Parker thinks Garnacho is in danger of letting his talent go to waste

‘I am not seeing anything from him. The most important thing for him now is to understand what he is good at and what he is bad at. He can´t take on people, he is not quick enough and he doesn’t want to work hard. So, what is he actually good at? 

‘He needs to figure that out and show it, rather than just wanting to be the next Ronaldo.

‘Because at the moment, to me, he just seems like a Ronaldo fanboy, who would rather make a few highlights to post them on Social Media rather than winning football matches and make this club great again.’

Garnacho was linked with a move away from United in January, but ended up staying at the club.

He is now trying to adapt to Amorim’s 3-4-3 system where he has been used as an attacking midfielder rather than an out-and-out winger.

Amorim has praised Garnacho for his efforts in recent weeks, but Parker remains unconvinced and is running out of patience with his lack of development.

He insists Garnacho’s age can no longer be used as an excuse, and urged him to work harder to achieve his potential.

‘We can’t keep using the excuse that Garnacho is young,’ Parker said. ‘He is not young anymore, at least not in football. He turns 21 in the summer and before he knows he will be 30. He needs to understand that and start performing.

Garnacho scored in his last United outing, but Parker still wants to see more from him

Parker has accused Garnacho of ‘letting his family and the club down’ and urged him to work harder to be a success under Ruben Amorim

‘The best players, like Ryan Giggs, were not considered young when he was 21. Garnacho might be immature but he is not young anymore, and it is a massive disappointment that he is not performing at all.

‘He is not playing like an adult and he is certainly not acting like an adult, and he has to have a good look in the mirror, to tell himself that he needs to stop thinking about being the next Ronaldo. He will never be that, so he has to accept the fact that he needs to work hard to get a decent career.’

Garnacho has just scored just four league goals this season, with United down in 13th in the table, but he did find the net in their last outing before the international break in a 3-0 win over Leicester.

He is due to return to action when United travel to high-flying Nottingham Forest next Tuesday.