Alejandro Garnacho has effectively ended his Manchester United career with a controversial gesture while on holiday in Ibiza.
The winger took to Instagram on Sunday to post an image of himself in an Aston Villa kit with the name of Marcus Rashford on its back in an apparent dig at Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim, with whom he has had a strained relationship.
Chelsea are one of the clubs tracking the former Atletico Madrid youth star, whose latest actions will only further spark up transfer rumours.
What is the importance of Garnacho’s gesture?
Garnacho appears to be directly taking aim at Amorim with his public message of support for Rashford.
Sources may have told BBC Sport that the Argentine’s decision to post the image was a way of backing Rashford, but it is unlikely that the Man Utd boss will see it that way given the animosity that has emerged between the management and both players.
By wearing a Rashford Aston Villa shirt and posting the image on Instagram, it’s easy to see how this could be seen as an anti-Amorim message.
The England winger has been out of favour at Old Trafford since December and was sent on loan to Villa during the January transfer window after falling out with Amorim over his attitude in training.
Garnacho was disciplined at the same time but found a route back to the first team. His dispute with Amorim then exploded again following the Europa League final, when he was dropped.
Garnacho told Argentinian media following the 1-0 loss to Tottenham: “Obviously it’s hard for everyone.
“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.”
His brother also took to social media to slam Amorim, claiming the winger had been “thrown under a bus”.
Garnacho played 58 times for Man Utd last season, scoring 11 goals and creating 10 more.
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