SUMMARY
- Alejandro Garnacho considers Real Madrid to be his dream club.
- Garnacho's stats at Manchester United aren't very encouraging.
Alejandro Garnacho is amongst the Premier League’s hottest prospects. The Manchester United player has quickly become an important player for his club, impressing the fans with his superior technique on the ball. A very passionate and determined character on the pitch, the 19-year-old’s heroics for ‘The Red Devils’ have alerted many clubs around the world. One club amongst them has stood out, which might enrage Garnacho’s former employers.
(🌕) “Alejandro Garnacho’s dream as a player is to play for Real Madrid. Not now, but he has it clear that he wants to play for Real Madrid at one point in his career.” @gastonedul ⚪️✨🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/IfaXKTEG3F
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) March 20, 2024
Reliable reports from Argentina have revealed that the former Atletico Madrid Youth Team player dreams of playing for Real Madrid. Like many young players, the Argentine too would want to fulfill his dream of wearing the iconic white kit of ‘Los Blancos’. However, many indications prove that the 18-year-old is not ready to realize his dream yet.
Real Madrid won’t be too happy with Alejandro Garnacho’s stats
While Manchester United is elated with the young Argentine’s performances, he is still way far from hitting his peak. Alejandro Garnacho is a very resolute player on the pitch who is always looking to correct his own mistakes. However, his tireless efforts have not yet bore fruit. Even after becoming Erik ten Hag’s preferred player for the right-wing position, Garnacho’s statistics are still not very encouraging.
Alejandro Garnacho has been featured regularly for ‘The Red Devils’ since the 22/23 season. Yet, Garnacho is still yet to finish a season with a G/A of more than 10. While Garnacho is well and truly on course to better his G/A record in the 23/24 season, the stats are still not Real Madrid-worthy. The Argentine has only scored 7 goals and assisted another 4 in his first 38 games in the 23/24 season.
Speechless. pic.twitter.com/lv0aTgsVGB
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 26, 2023
‘Los Blancos’ is certainly not a club that would settle for such mediocre statistics. Even signing him now won’t be a great decision for the club. Alejandro Garnacho would cost at least in the region of $100 million, given his age and also because he had signed his latest contract with Manchester United till 2028. Instead, Real Madrid needs Garnacho to become a finished product to cash in on him.
Alejandro Garnacho still lacks the technicality for La Liga
The Spanish League is very different from the Premier League. While a player can survive comfortably with physical prowess and decent technical abilities, La Liga is a whole different ball game.
In the Spanish League, a player’s on-the-ball characteristics are of utmost importance, with things like key passes, crossing, etc. mattering a lot for a winger. Alejandro Garnacho is way away from the current Real Madrid wingers, which is worrying for the Argentine.
Alejandro Garnacho averages 1.2 key passes per game in all competitions in the 23/24 season, which is worse than the likes of Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo. The Brazilian duo provides 1.5 and 1.4 key passes per game, which is great news for the goalscorers at Real Madrid. Rodrygo (1.6) and Vinicius (2.8) also complete way more dribbles per game than Garnacho (1.2).
The Brazilian duo have better ball retention qualities than the Argentine, who loses the ball much more easily than Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. Defensively, Alejandro Garnacho has more tackles per game (0.6) than Rodrygo (0.5) but loses out to Vinicius Jr.’s 0.8 tackles per game record.
Hence, statistically, Alejandro Garnacho is not quite ready for La Liga soccer yet. The Argentine player needs to work on the aforementioned areas well before making his dream move to Real Madrid.
Garnacho’s controversial antics might not interest Real Madrid in him
The Argentine is certainly a very outspoken person. Even though he is from the same nation as Lionel Messi, the 18-year-old has publicly declared that he considers Cristiano Ronaldo to be his idol.
Many Argentines, including the legendary Angel Di Maria, have urged Garnacho not to copy CR7, but the United player looks to be very careless about such intimidations. However, this nonchalant attitude has earned him a lot of haters, particularly from his home country.
Another controversy that involves the 18-year-old is when Alejandro Garnacho allegedly racially abused Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana. The Cameroonian had saved the day for Manchester United in a UEFA Champions League 23/24 group stage match by saving a late penalty.
People cannot choose what I should be offended by.
I know exactly what @agarnacho7 meant: power & strength.
This matter should go no further.
AO24 pic.twitter.com/RDzhwLI3BX
— Andre Onana (@AndreyOnana) October 26, 2023
Garnacho was elated by Onana’s heroics and decided to praise him online. However, things went sour after the Argentine posted an image of the Manchester United goalie along with two gorilla emojis. Although Onana clarified that he wasn’t offended by the post, Garnancho had to delete the post as it had garnered a lot of media attention.
These might be some reasons why Real Madrid might not consider signing the Argentine. ‘Los Blancos’ is a club that is very obsessed with its image, and some of the antics that the United player has committed might upset the club. Alejandro Garnacho should therefore rectify his online behavior as soon as possible, or else his dream move to Real Madrid might be in jeopardy.
Real Madrid would have to put a lot of effort into marketing the player
As mentioned earlier, Alejandro Garnacho is still not a finished product yet. It is worth noting that, Real Madrid does not only see a transfer through the sporting lens. Apart from the performances on the pitch, ‘Los Blancos’ also pays close attention to what additional value a player can bring to the club. This could be in the form of social media following, jersey sales, pre-season tour sales, etc.
Garnacho should look no further than his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese had massively boosted the Spanish club’s value when he joined the club in 2009.
And clearly, the Argentine player is not a good fit for Real Madrid right now. Alejandro Garnacho has a pretty good Instagram following of 9.5 million followers and an additional 700,000 on X. His social media following, however, appears very scanty when compared with that of Real Madrid’s current targets.
Kylian Mbappe, who is bound to play for Real Madrid in the 24/25 season, has a whopping 112 million followers on Instagram. Another Real Madrid dream signing is Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, who has over 38 million followers on Instagram.
These two players would create havoc in the soccer world, which would fuel the commercial value of Real Madrid. The jersey sales and the ticket sales would skyrocket, which would benefit the club massively.
It is, therefore, apparent that club President Florentino Perez would have to spend a fortune to market the Alejandro Garnacho. The club would also be worried about whether it would get a return on the money invested in the Argentine.
Hence, the best-case scenario for both parties, in this case, would be that Garnacho stays at Manchester United, where he develops himself as a person and a soccer player. Alejandro Garnacho is a very determined player, and in our eyes, he could be seen wearing the white kit of Real Madrid soon.