Alejandro Garnacho has angered the Spanish press, who claim he mocked Pedri after Manchester United beat Barcelona last night.
Garnacho came off the bench on 67 minutes to replace Jadon Sancho and six minutes later, contributed to Antony’s winning goal.
The result sparked wild celebrations at Old Trafford, and Garnacho marked the win by copying the way Barca midfielder Pedri celebrates.
As per Goal, Pedri celebrates goals by putting his hands over his eyes to mimic wearing glasses and has explained that it is a tribute to his father who wears them.
Alejandro Garnacho does Pedri celebration after Manchester United 2-1 Barcelona
After the game, Garnacho posted a photo of him with his hands over his eyes, with a message which read, when translated: “The big club goes through to the next round.”
This did not go down well with Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, who have said that Garnacho ‘clearly mocks’ Pedri, who missed last night’s game injured.
They also said that Garnacho is a Real Madrid fan and made reference to him calling Cristiano Ronaldo the greatest player of all time when he has also played with Lionel Messi for Argentina.
They claimed the celebration was in ‘very bad taste’ and that Garnacho is ’18-year-old boy who has done very little in elite football’.
Last night’s result at Old Trafford has not gone down well in the Spanish media then – and we don’t think Garnacho will care at all.
He knew what he was doing when he posted the message and the teenager is playing with the fearlessness of youth, with complete faith in his own ability.
Erik ten Hag is such a focused, driven professional that he probably has no time for social media or winding up rival fans on Twitter.
But he will not let this turn into any kind of story, with focus now on Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Newcastle, when Garnacho will hope to play his part in the first trophy of the Ten Hag era.
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