Angel Gomes reveals 'perfect' rule Man Utd make all academy players follow that the senior team don't have

Former Manchester United academy star Angel Gomes has revealed the one rule that he had to follow that wasn't in place for the senior team.

Since his arrival at United at the age of six, many anticipated that Gomes would go on and do great things for the club and he was widely regarded as one of England's brightest prospects.

A decade later Jose Mourinho handed him his senior debut as he came on to the pitch as a late substitute in a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace in May 2017 at just 16 years old, becoming youngest player to represent United since 1953.

Ultimately, things didn't quite work out for the midfielder at Old Trafford, as he later left as a free agent in the summer of 2020, later joining Ligue 1 side Lille.

The move has since massively paid off for Gomes, who now finds himself in contention for a spot in England's World Cup squad. leading to him speaking to the Brtisih media and finally opening up about his time at United.

Angel Gomes returned to the England squad during Lee Carsley's term as interim manager. (Image: Getty)

While speaking to BBC Sport, the 24-year-old spoke out about playing for United at such a young age and revealed a strict rule that he and his fellow academy players had to follow during this youth career.

"From the moment you step into the place, the coaches are telling you about the history of the club," he explained.

"The Busby Babes, they show you pictures of George Best and Bobby Charlton. The culture is set early.

"You know everything about the club and what it represents. It's just something that you carry."

The midfielder later revealed details about the 'black boot policy' that was enforced within the United youth teams, a rule that banned all players from wearing colourful football boots for one specific reason.

"You would play against other teams and they'd be wearing colourful boots that you wanted to wear, because your idols wore colourful boots," Gomes revealed.

"But thinking about it now, it was perfect because they wanted everyone to be the same."

Angel Gomes played for Manchester United for 11 years. (Image: Getty)

The black boot policy is potentially just one of the reasons why United's academy has become famous for producing some of the best young talents in football, including the likes of Best, Charlton and David Beckham.

In Gomes' time in the club's academy alone, he played alongside several of the club's recent stars, including both Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay.