Man Utd Demanded Player Leave Club but Still Played Him Over Alvaro Carreras

A Manchester United player still played instead of Alvaro Carreras despite being told to leave the club permanently.

Carreras, 22, is currently Real Madrid’s starting left-back, having transferred from Benfica for a reported £43 million back in July.

His move came after the Spaniard impressed during his time with the Lisbon club, and he has since continued to perform in the white of Los Blancos.

Last week, he helped Xabi Alonso’s side keep a clean sheet in their 4-0 La Liga victory over Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu and even got on the scoresheet with a thunderous left-footed strike.

So, with Carreras shining at one of the world’s biggest clubs, why did he fail to make a single senior appearance at Man United?

While there’s no straight answer to that question, it appeared that his route to the first team was blocked by a player who is now playing his football in the Championship.

Despite registering four goals and ten assists in 47 appearances for United’s Under-21 side, the Ferrol-born left-back was snubbed by Erik ten Hag despite being endorsed by interim boss Ralf Rangnick during his time at Old Trafford.

Alvaro Carreras in action for Real Madrid (Credit:Getty)

In 2022, Rangnick said: “There might be one or two, or maybe even three [youngsters], where it makes sense to have them in pre-season so that they can also show Erik if they are already ready to play.”

The other two players he was referring to were Hannibal Mejdbri and Alejandro Garnacho, both of whom have since moved on from United.

Ten Hag went on to leave Carreras out of the 2022 pre-season tour, before the youngster was loaned to Preston North End in the Championship.

After making 42 appearances for Preston and being named as the club’s Young Player of the Season, Carreras was then included in Ten Hag’s squad for the 2023 pre-season tour – although he did not feature in the three friendlies which took place in the United States.

At the time, United academy graduate Brandon Williams appeared to be ahead of Carreras in the pecking order at left-back despite the Mancunian having only played five minutes in the previous 14 months.

According to The Sun, United sources said during the 2023 tour that they had told Williams he was for sale.

Still, the Englishman played three friendly games – against Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal - while Carreras was an unused substitute.

United could not sell Williams and instead loaned him to Ipswich Town for the season. After several off-the-field problems, the 25-year-old was released by United in 2024. He has since joined Hull City.

Alvaro Carreras in Man Utd training in 2022 (Credit:Getty)

Meanwhile, after being snubbed in the pre-season of 2023, Carreras was loaned to La Liga side Granada while United brought in Sergio Reguilon on loan before the former Spurs full-back’s time at Old Trafford was cut short in January 2024.

Fast forward three seasons, and last Saturday, several United fans criticised left-wing-back Diogo Dalot for his lacklustre performance away at Nottingham Forest, with the left side of defence remaining a problematic position given Luke Shaw’s well-documented fitness problems throughout his career.

There’s an argument that Carreras would’ve been given a chance had he stayed at United, but given the fact he has since joined Real Madrid and is starting every week, it’s safe to suggest the player is glad about how his career has played out.

And it’s fair to say those involved with player recruitment at United got this particular case wrong.