Alejandro Garnacho is set to make his Argentina debut in the coming days. In Spain, they are sniping already.
Manchester United attacker Alejandro Garnacho is the club’s next superstar, waiting to take a big step onto the world stage.
Argentina have called him into their national squad, where he will make his long awaited debut in one of the two upcoming friendlies against Australia and Indonesia.
Garnacho had previously represented Spain at under-18 level, before switching allegiance to Argentina a year ago.
READ: Confirmed Manchester United transfers in, out, loans, releases, youth for 2023/24
Spanish media snipe at Alejandro Garnacho
Technically, Alejandro Garnacho can still reverse his decision, until he has made three international appearances, due to his age.
In an interview with TyC Sports, Garnacho assures this won’t be the case. He said: “I feel Argentine, they bet on me before and I was clear about it. I don’t need three games to decide.”
It was not just the words in Garnacho’s interview which has prompted irritation in Spain – but the way he said them.
Marca criticised him for suddenly developing an Argentine dialect.
The newspaper sniped: “Garnacho from Madrid gets the Argentine accent at breakneck speed.”
Argentine outlet TN explained the differences, and noted that Garnacho “tried to soften his Spanish accent and gave it a touch of Argentine , marking some idioms such as highlighting the “y” every time he said “yo” and saying “here” instead of “here”.
It’s important to remember too, that Garnacho is only 18, and is still discovering himself. If that means leaning into his Argentine background and attempting to fit in, so be it.
He could just as easily be criticised in Argentina for appearing ‘too Spanish’ and not trying to fit in. So he has done nothing wrong here.
If he upsets a few in Spain, so be it. He will never win them over, having pledged his international future to Argentina, the country in which his mother was born.
From a Manchester United perspective, he can speak with whatever accent he likes. Whatever makes him feel comfortable and helps grow his confidence, to be the best player he can possibly be.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
