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'I play 20 minutes' – Garnacho fumes after Europa League final defeat
Alejandro Garnacho played just 19 minutes of Manchester United's Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
Alejandro Garnacho has thrown his Manchester United future into doubt following the Red Devils' defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
Spurs ended their 17-year wait for a major trophy with a 1-0 victory in Bilbao, sealed by Brennan Johnson's scrappy finish three minutes before half-time.
Indeed, United suffered their 20th defeat in all competitions this season, their most in a season since losing 22 in 1973-74, in a season they were relegated from the top-flight.
Ahead of kick-off, United boss Ruben Amorim opted to start Mason Mount over Garnacho, with the Argentine substituted into the game with just 19 minutes remaining.
Garnacho featured in every game of United's run to the final, making 14 appearances and registering five goal involvements (one goal, four assists) before the showpiece match.
And the 20-year-old, who was linked with a move to Chelsea and Napoli in January, was critical of Amorim's decision to hand him a limited role in the final.
"Up until the final I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes. I don't know," said Garnacho.
"The final will influence [my decision] but the whole season, the situation of the club. I'm going to try to enjoy the summer and see what happens afterwards."
Across all competitions this season, Garnacho has registered 11 goals and 10 assists, with only Bruno Fernandes (36) managing more goal involvements for United.
Garnacho posted on his social media before kick-off upon learning that he was on the bench, depicting him celebrating in the 2024 FA Cup final and Community Shield.
Roberto Garnacho, his brother, posted on his Instagram account that the winger had been "thrown under the bus".
"Working as no-one else, helping every round, coming from two goals in the last two finals, just to be on the pitch for 19 mins and get thrown under the bus," he wrote.
But when asked if he should have introduced Garnacho sooner, Amorim referred to a miss by the forward in the semi-final second leg against Athletic Bilbao.
"How many times have we had this conversation, and it was the opposite?," Amorim said.
"Some players come in, like Mason Mount, against Bilbao and changed the game.
"So now it is easy to say. Who missed the big opportunity in the first half against Bilbao? Yeah [Garnacho]. Of course, now it is easy for us to talk about a lot of views."