Ralf Rangnick has doubled down on his decision to deny Jesse Lingard a final Old Trafford appearance for Manchester United, with the midfielder set to leave the club when his contract expires in the summer.
The England midfielder was an unused substitute in United’s final home game of the season against Brentford on Monday night.
However, in an Instagram post his brother, Louie Scott, lambasted Rangnick’s decision and labeled the club ‘classless’.
For one reason or another, I don’t think United will be seeking PR advise from a local dancer any time soon, though it sounds like Louie fancies himself as a football advisor these days.
Scott added ‘no wonder it’s Europa Conference League’ next season, yet United can still qualify for the Europa League…
Rangnick was asked about those comments at this afternoon’s press conference before explaining Lingard’s current situation and why he did not feature against Brentford.
“To start with, in the last couple of weeks under my tenure he has played far more games than he used to,” Rangnick told reporters, as per the Manchester Evening News.
“Number two, on game day against Chelsea he asked me to release him from the game and training the following day for personal family reasons. And this was the reason with only three subs I had to take a decision between Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard, or the young Alejandro Garnacho, who I would have loved to have brought on and given a chance to play. I took the decision to bring on Edinson. Had I not brought on someone might have asked if it’s classless not to bring on Cavani or Alejandro Garnacho. After two subs, you have to take a decision and this will not be to the liking of everybody and this is part of the game.”
It is a shame that Lingard, one of our academy graduates, looks set to leave under a grey cloud. That could have easily been avoided if his brother didn’t feel the need to share these unnecessary rants about the club on social media.
Rangnick was asked if these posts left him feeling frustrated. He added: “To be honest, I’m not reading a lot, I’ve not had the time in the last six months to read, I’m not on Instagram, I’m not on Facebook, I’m not engaged in those areas.
“My focus has been to develop the team. In those days with social media there is always somebody posting something and it’s important not to take too much notice of that. Unless it is the player himself, then it might be a different story.”
