Matheus Cunha was one of the players who made it clear that joining Man Utd was their dream move, and he has now been caught off guard by something ‘crazy’ about the club’s training ground.
The new summer signings, of which Matheus Cunha was one, are lucky in the sense that they walked straight into the revamped facilities.
Carrington underwent a complete renovation worth £50m in the summer, so those who joined this summer have no idea what it was before.
Still, it speaks volumes about the renovation that something still managed to catch Cunha off guard.
Matheus Cunha on ‘crazy’ training ground detail
Ruben Amorim was insistent from the very first day after the completion of the renovation that he wanted the training facilities to attract players to stay.
He wanted the amenities to be so good that the players are no longer compelled to spend time, but rather they just want to spend time there naturally.
Players like Diogo Dalot, Tom Heaton, and Bruno Fernandes have already raved about that exact impact it has had, and we can now add Cunha to that list.
He said: “You know, having these kinds of facilities is something amazing, you know. I think as well all the players want to have these facilities to use them every day, and you know this zone here, the Players’ Lounge.
“I didn’t use it a lot, but it’s good to have with your friends, your teammates, some guys play here you know, there’s a lot of room to play here to enjoy and have healthy food like the club gives to us is something then you know it’s like I say it’s amazing to be part of all of this.”
Beyond the facilities, however, he said that having a barber room inside the training ground was something ‘crazy’, but welcomed the initiative.
He said: “I think the barber room. Yeah. It’s crazy to have this in the training ground, but I think all the new players now. All the styles of the players love to cut their hair.”
Man Utd reaping rewards of ‘Marginal gains’ philosophy
It is striking that despite walking into a club that was completely broken and a mess, Ineos‘ first big project was revamping the training ground.
It’s not a glamorous project that will be picked outwardly by many, as public access is limited, but they realised that for the players, it’s the area they spend most of their time in.
This fits right in line with Sir Dave Brailsford’s “Marginal Gains” philosophy, which seeks to improve most areas slightly, instead of making a pomp and show about transforming one thing.
Those slight improvements in all areas add up to bring about a massive change in the organisation, and Cunha’s comments show the training ground has been a success.
United will continue to reap the rewards of these marginal gains in other areas as well, and, as a result, the whole club will be better off.
Who knew having a barber at the training ground could make such a massive difference!
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