Former Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt has strongly criticized Alejandro Garnacho's attitude during his time at Old Trafford, branding it a "disgrace" and stating that selling him was the best decision the club could have made. Garnacho, 21, reportedly fell out of favor under former head coach Ruben Amorim and was ultimately transferred to Chelsea last summer for £40 million ($54m) following a widely publicized transfer saga.

Garnacho has struggled to make an impact at his new club, notably failing to impress in a recent showdown against his former team, which saw United secure a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge. Following the match, United defender Luke Shaw shared a photo on Instagram of him pushing Garnacho down, prompting teammate Bruno Fernandes to respond with a GIF reading "that's a violation," and Joshua Zirkzee to comment "nice one mate." Butt interpreted these social media interactions from Garnacho's former teammates as clear evidence that he had disrespected the changing room during his time at Manchester United.

Speaking on "The Good, The Bad and The Football" podcast, Butt emphasized his perspective on the transfer, stating, "The best thing for me that Manchester United did was sell him because, forget his ability, I don't think he's that great anyway. However, his attitude for me was a disgrace when he was at United." He elaborated on the social media posts, explaining that such reactions occur "if you are in a changing room and you leave and completely disrespect your teammates and football club." Butt reflected on how such behavior would have been handled in his playing era: "He'd have been taken out every single day in training. He'd have been put in his place very quickly with the likes of the players we got brought up with. Swatted down, taken out. He would've been treated really badly if he behaved like that, but he'd have learnt from it and got better."

Butt, who served as Manchester United's head of academy from 2016 to 2019 before transitioning to head of first team development until 2021, shared his personal observations of Garnacho. The former treble winner felt that Garnacho developed an inflated sense of self-importance too quickly. He added, "Garnacho was always a bit standoffish. He had a high opinion of himself. I thought he had an edge about him and when he went into Manchester United's first team, and I will say what I think because I was there looking at it, he got above his station way too quick." Butt further asserted that Garnacho achieved "superstar status so quickly" after joining the first team and scoring a "phenomenal" bicycle-kick goal, concluding that "Someone in that football club should have been swatting him down. They might have been and he's just ignored them."