Manchester United are an oasis of peace in comparison to the player power and hysteria surrounding other clubs. What changed?
The past decade at Manchester United has been a rollercoaster, and the darkest moments have often been undermined by player power.
We are currently seeing more situations unravel in real time around Europe.
Over at rivals Liverpool, the Mo Salah situation has been bubbling away for months. He has clashed with hapless manager Arne Slot during the season, and recently unleashed a tirade on X criticising the club’s style of football.
It is a parting shot from the Egyptian that is already overshadowing his farewell game, and it could wreck it altogether.
Salah’s actions make a brutal Liverpool season even worse.
Meanwhile at Real Madrid, their dressing room is fractured by clashes between players; from Alvaro Carreras and Antonio Rudiger, to Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni’s bust-ups.
From the sidelines, an injured Kylian Mbappe is making it all worse, with passive aggressive social media posts, creating more drama around the El Clasico defeat.
Real’s solution is bringing back Jose Mourinho as manager. This is only likely to make the situation even more volatile.
Meanwhile at Manchester United, there is a refreshing sense of calmness in the air.
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Manchester United have been the crisis club
Player power was an issue even during the Sir Alex Ferguson era. The great manager even dropped Wayne Rooney from the squad for his final two games in charge.
The David Moyes era was blighted by players who thought they knew better than the manager, and perhaps they did.
Fast-forwarding to the Jose Mourinho stint, he famously fell out with Paul Pogba, the club’s record signing. This accelerated his own exit.
Further frustrations came to a boil under Ralf Rangnick when Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard both publicly questioned the manager on social media, amid publicly aired frustrations from Cristiano Ronaldo over the team’s form.
The Ronaldo situation blew up under Erik ten Hag, with the superstar forcing his own exit after an explosive interview.
Jadon Sancho was the next to hit out at Ten Hag the following year. He was ostracised from the squad and left his career spiralling with a series of loan moves.
Ruben Amorim fell out with Marcus Rashford almost immediately, while Alejandro Garnacho later forced his own exit by hitting out at the head coach.
These are just a few examples of the drama that has consistently followed Manchester United around over the past decade, mirroring the activity unfolding at Liverpool and Real Madrid.
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Michael Carrick has brought calm to United
The contrast could not be more different to the current situation at Manchester United.
The mood of the club reflects Michael Carrick’s calm personality, with the squad all working together to the same goal, despite little playing time to share around.
The happy scenes after United’s final game of the season showed the unity in the squad, with the players content with their achievements in contrast to the previous campaign.
There are no players taking subtle shots at the club or manager on social media, or publicly expressing their displeasure in interviews.
Ineos have worked to try and build a squad with the right characters. It is not just about talent and star names. Manchester United have moved on.
This will continue into the recruitment this summer, and we hope for another season of comparative calmness and serenity at United, set against the madness on show elsewhere.
Will it last? Who knows? We hope United are building something sustainable. But in case it does not stay this way – let’s embrace the current peace and contentment.
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