Manchester United lost 1-0 to Tottenham in the Europa League, and one of the most frustrated was Argentine winger Garnacho. Before the match, the 20-year-old Garnacho deliberately dyed his hair blonde, intending to show off his strength in the final. Unexpectedly, he could only sit on the bench, and was only sent out in the last 20 minutes, although he threatened to attack a few times, and finally could not recover.
Garnacho has been a regular for most of the season and has made 57 appearances in all competitions leading up to the Europa League final, but the tension between the two has surfaced again when he was put on the bench by Amorim in the final.
Amorim opted for Mason Mount, whom he clearly admires, and Mr £60million has played in the Europa League for the second time this season, the last time in November last year. Both the fans and Garnacho were very unhappy about this. Garnacho proved to be more effective off the bench than Mount in the first 70 minutes.
Before the game, Garnacho posted a post on social media, suspected of knowing that he would not be the main lineup for the final at that moment. Those were two images of him scoring and celebrating in last season's FA Cup final, and the Daily Mail speculated at the time that this might be a sign that Garnacho, who had just returned to Argentina, would be relegated to the bench, and that turned out to be the case.
Garnacho has often been accused of using social media to vent his frustrations to fans, coaches and players. After being substituted in Manchester United's 3-2 win over Ipswich Town in February, he uploaded a picture of his disappointment and was criticised, with some questioning whether he was more focused on himself than the team. Afterwards, Amorim said Garnacho had invited his team-mates to dinner to make amends.
One of the more well-known conflicts between the two was naturally the Manchester derby, in which Garnacho, like Marcus Rashford, was dropped because of attitude issues. He was then able to return to the first team, while Coach was completely beaten out of the cold and sent out on loan at Aston Villa.
But this time, there are huge doubts about whether the contradiction between the two can be eliminated. After the game, Garnacho's brother and agent, Roberto, told Amorim publicly: "Working harder than anyone else, contributing in every round, scoring two goals in the last two finals, only to be discarded and only played 19 minutes. I can only hehe."
In fact, Garnacho himself said something similar in an interview, hinting at a possible departure this summer: "I played in every round and helped the team get to the final, but today I only got 20 minutes of playing time. I don't know, I'm going to try to enjoy this summer and see what happens."
Garnacho looked dejected on the pitch before the game when United officially announced his starting line-up, standing alongside Tottenham full-back Sergio Reguilon, who spent a brief loan spell at the Red Devils last season, as he warmed up with a blank and unenthusiastic look and appeared to be listening to music with a pair of headphones.
But coach Amorim refused to admit that it was a mistake not to start Garnacho, and he even publicly criticised the Argentine winger for squandering opportunities in the semi-finals. Amorim said, "It's easy to talk about it afterwards. Who missed the best chance in the first half in the semi-finals? Garnacho! That's what football is all about."
When a manager criticizes a player in public, there is a high probability that their relationship will break down. It is no coincidence that the British media have been rumouring that Manchester United may sell Garnacho, who already has an academy player, this summer, and hope that he can sell 50 million pounds, which would be pure profit.
Unfortunately, Chelsea and Napoli, two potential buyers who were interested in bringing in Garnacho in January, appear to have cooled their interest. Offside Insight reports that Chelsea are turning their attention to Borussia Dortmund's Gittens, with the 20-year-old Englishman available for a transfer fee of just €50 million.
Another club interested in Garnacho is Serie A Napoli, however Antonio Conte's side have contacted free superstar Kevin De Bruyne, who is leaving Manchester City, and are willing to pay €10 million a year to sign him. Once Napoli sign De Bruyne, the chances of bringing in Garnacho will also be reduced.
Manchester United are said to have asked Napoli to make their stance on whether to buy Garnacho as soon as possible after the end of the season. Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen and Garnacho's former club Atletico Madrid, coached by Diego Simeone, are also rumoured to be keeping an eye on him.