MANCHESTER UNITED vs Chelsea will always hold special memories for Alejandro Garnacho and his family.
And the Argentine winger returns to Old Trafford just 21 days after his departure hoping to make some more.
It was April 2022 when the young Argentine winger made his Manchester United debut – as an 89th minute sub for Anthony Elanga.
He only got a few minutes in the 1-1 draw against his new employers in the final days of Ralf Rangnick’s miserable spell in charge.
But a Red Devils bow and getting onto the same pitch as his boyhood idol Cristiano Ronaldo was the stuff of schoolboy dreams for the teenager.
Father Alex and brother Roberto were overcome with emotion – and even shed a few tears as they watched on from the stands.
Later that year, he stepped into the void left by CR7 – and even inherited the Portuguese legend’s song on the Stretford End.
At that point, he looked destined for a glittering future with the Red Devils.
Who would have thought that less than three and a half years later, the Argentine winger would be lining up against the Red Devils this evening.
His relationship with Ruben Amorim was clearly strained within weeks of the Portuguese taking charge in November.
And it unravelled to such an extent that he was put in the ‘bomb squad’ at Carrington in early July and completely frozen out of the first team picture.
Sources close to Amorim say he has not regretted showing Garnacho the door for one second.
And he could barely even bring himself to mention his former player’s name when he was asked about him at Friday’s press conference.
Asked about the winger’s return, he said: “He’s not our player – I’m focused on my own players.
“I just want to win games. I don’t care who plays for the opponent, what people are going to say in the end, if the other player is going to play well.
“They are good players and they will play well if things happen.”
How ironic then that the 21-year-old has the chance to push his old boss further towards the sack at the Theatre of Dreams this evening.
He’s not our player – I’m focused on my own players.
Ruben Amorim
Yet when he took charge in late autumn last year, Amorim was genuinely looking forward to working with him.
Just a month in though came the first signs of cracks, as the manager did not like Garnacho’s body language after he brought him off the bench late in a Europa League tie at Viktoria Plzen.
He did not think the youngster was listening to what he was saying and that would become a recurring theme over the months ahead.
Garnacho was axed from the squad for the next game a few days later – the shock derby win at the Etihad – and from then on things always seemed tense.
There was even talk of a switch to Stamford Bridge in January – and Amorim would have happily driven him to London himself – but it never materialised.
Several senior players – including Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Harry Maguire – urged him to start thinking of the team instead of just himself.
But he wouldn’t listen, and in the end the manager felt the Argentine youngster was bringing a negative vibe to the dressing room at Old Trafford.
The coach also grew tired of Garnacho’s moodiness and temper tantrums when things were not going his way.
He was quiet by nature – often having his head buried in his phone but his regular posts on social media sometimes landed him in hot water.
When Garnacho missed an easy chance in the tense Europa League semi-final second leg against Athletic Bilbao, Amorim’s face told a story.
In the final a couple of weeks later, he left the winger on the bench until the 71st minute despite a lacklustre performance by his team.
He spoke to the media afterwards saying he needed to think about his future – along with his brother’s Instagram post claiming he had been thrown under the bus proved to be the final straw.
He was told clearly by the boss in the days that followed that it was time to find a new club – and after a long couple of months in cold storage he finally got one.
Could United’s loss be Chelsea’s gain now though after his £40 million move on deadline day?
Blues fans saw both sides of him at Brentford as he climbed off the bench to set up Moises Caicedo’s goal – but then failed to pick up his man as the Bees equalised.
Sources say he has settled in well – making friends with his countrymen Enzo Fernandez and Facundo Buonanotte.
Maresca says he has not delved too deeply into what went wrong for his new signing at United.
Another member of that United ‘bomb squad’, Marcus Rashford, marked his return to England by scoring twice for Barcelona at Newcastle on Thursday night.
Now the Blues boss hopes Garnacho can make headlines back on his old stamping ground.
He said: “I don’t know what happened to him – but you have to learn how to handle these things. I think he’s ready to start.
“It has happened many times. The reason why, I don’t know. But it can happen that one player does not fit one team, then moves, and he starts to do fantastic again.
“We have also another similar case, like Jadon Sancho last year, who for different reasons struggled.
“Then he joined us for one season, he was good, he helped us achieve our targets. Jadon had a good season with us and hopefully Alejandro can have the same.”
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