Alejandro Garnacho Ferreyra (born 1 July 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Born in Spain, he plays for the Argentina national team. Garnacho joined Manchester United's youth system from

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

in October 2020. He won the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

and the

Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Manchester United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Manchester United F.C., Manchester United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. They play in the Premier League 2, the highest tier of the Professional Development Leag ...

award in May 2022. The month prior, he had made his first-team debut at the age of 17. Garnacho initially played youth international football for Spain, the country of his birth, before making his debut for Argentina at

under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

level in 2022. He made his debut for the senior Argentina team in June 2023, and was a member of the squad that won the

2024 Copa América The 2024 Copa América will be the 48th edition of the Copa América, the quadrennial international men's football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. Argentina are the defending champions. Host country ...

Club career

Early career

Born in Madrid, Garnacho joined

's youth system in 2015 from Getafe.

Manchester United

Youth career

In October 2020, Garnacho joined the

Manchester United Academy Manchester United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Manchester United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. They play in the Premier League 2, the highest tier of the Professional Development League. The team is effectiv ...

. United paid Atlético a £420,000 fee. He signed his first professional contract with the club in July 2021. Garnacho came under the spotlight for his solo goal in the

win over Everton, which was nominated for United's Goal of the Month award for February 2022. After being named as an unused substitute for several

matches, Garnacho made his first-team debut for United on 28 April, replacing

Anthony Elanga Anthony David Junior Elanga (born 27 April 2002) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Manchester United and the Sweden national team. Elanga joined the Manchester United youth system aged 12 and won the Jimmy ...

in the 91st minute of a 1–1 draw against Chelsea. Garnacho won the

award in May. He scored twice in the final of the FA Youth Cup against Nottingham Forest on 11 May, helping United win the competition for the first time since 2011.

2022–23 season: Breakthrough

For the start of the

2022–23 Premier League The 2022–23 Premier League will be the 31st season of the Premier League, and the 124th season of top-flight English football overall. The provisional fixtures are scheduled to be released on Wednesday 15 June 2022. As of the 2022–23 season, c ...

season, he changed his shirt number from 75 to 49. On 4 October, he scored a late winner for United's U-21 against

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

in the

2022–23 EFL Trophy The 2022–23 EFL Trophy, known as the Papa Johns Trophy for sponsorship reasons, the 40th season in the history of the competition, is a knock-out tournament for clubs in EFL League One and League Two, the third and fourth tiers of the English fo ...

. Garnacho made his first senior start for United on 27 October, in a 3–0 win over Moldovan team

Sheriff Tiraspol Fotbal Club Sheriff (russian: ФК Шериф Тирасполь), commonly known as Sheriff Tiraspol or simply Sheriff, is a Moldovan professional football club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnist ...

in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

, whereafter he was praised by manager

Erik ten Hag Erik ten Hag (, born 2 February 1970) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player, who is currently the manager of Premier League club Manchester United. As a player, Ten Hag played as a centre-back in the Dutch league for 13 years ...

for his improvement over the past few weeks, saying that though previously dissatisfied, he was happy with Garnacho's improved attitude and resilience. On 3 November, he scored his first senior goal in a Europa League match against

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...

with an assist from his idol

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

. Garnacho scored his first goal in the Premier League on 13 November, an injury-time winner against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. On 14 January 2023 in the Manchester derby, Garnacho set up Marcus Rashford's 82nd-minute winner in a 2–1 win against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. On 14 March, Garnacho announced he would be sidelined for several weeks after suffering an ankle ligament injury during a game against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. On 28 April, Garnacho signed a new contract extension that will last until 30 June 2028. On 13 May, Garnacho returned from two months out with injury, scoring the second goal in a 2–0 victory against Wolves.

2023–24 season: Established first-team regular

At the beginning of the

2023–24 Premier League The 2023–24 Premier League is the 32nd season of the Premier League and 125th season of English football overall. The fixtures were announced on 15 June 2023 at 09:00 BST. Manchester City are the three-time defending champions, and can beco ...

season,

announced that Garnacho's squad number would be changed from 49 to 17. On 26 November, Garnacho scored his first goal of the Premier League season with a bicycle kick from out to open the scoring in a 3–0 win over Everton, earning him the

Premier League Goal of the Month The Premier League Goal of the Month is an association football award that recognises the player who is deemed to have scored the best Premier League goal each month of the season from August to April. The winner is chosen by a combination of ...

for November 2023, and eventually the

Premier League Goal of the Season The Premier League Goal of the Season is an annual football award for the player deemed to have scored the best goal in the preceding Premier League season. The shortlist features each of the season's nine Premier League Goal of the Month winne ...

. On 29 November, Garnacho scored his first Champions League goal in a 3–3 away draw against Galatasaray. On 26 December, Garnacho scored two goals in a 3–2 comeback win against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. On 4 April 2024, Garnacho scored two goals in a 4–3 away defeat against Chelsea, becoming the first teenager to score multiple braces in three Premier League matches in a single season since Michael Owen in 1998–99. In the FA Cup final on 25 May, Garnacho scored the opening goal in an eventual 2–1 win over Manchester City. His goal in the final was the first for a teenager since Cristiano Ronaldo in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, and he also became the second Argentinian to score after

Ricardo Villa Ricardo Julio Villa (; born 18 August 1952), more commonly known as Ricky Villa, is an Argentine football coach and former professional midfielder. He was famous for his time playing football from 1970 to 1989. Career Villa was born in Roque ...

’s brace for

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

also against City in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

International career

Garnacho was eligible to play for his country of birth,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, as his mother is Argentine. He made three appearances for the Spain under-18 team in 2021. On 7 March 2022, Garnacho was called up to the senior Argentina team as part of an initial 44-man squad for their two

World Cup qualifiers The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...

that month. He made it to the final 33-man squad for the fixtures, but did not make an appearance in either game. Garnacho made his debut for the Argentina under-20 side on 26 March, when he started in a friendly match against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He scored four goals in four appearances for the under-20 team at the

2022 Maurice Revello Tournament The 2022 Maurice Revello Tournament (officially french: 48ème Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello), was the 48th edition of the Maurice Revello Tournament, an annual, international, age-restricted football tournament, wh ...

winning the Revelation Player and Goal of the Tournament awards. In March 2023, he was called up once again to the senior Argentina team for two friendly matches against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

and

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

, but had to withdraw from the squad after suffering an ankle injury. He made his debut for the senior team on 15 June, during a friendly against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Workers' Stadium The Workers' Stadium (), often called Gongti, Gong Ti or Kung T'i, is a multi-purpose stadium in the Chaoyang District of north-eastern Beijing, China. It was mostly used for association football matches. The stadium was built in 1959 and was l ...

, coming on as a substitute for Nicolás González during the second half of the game. In June 2024, Garnacho was included in Lionel Scaloni's final 26-man Argentina squad for the

, going on to win the tournament.

Style of play

An energetic forward, Garnacho has been praised for his speed and dribbling abilities, as well as his ability to create chances and get into the box. He is considered one of the most promising prospects of Manchester United's academy. At United, he has frequently been deployed as a winger on either the left or right flank. United coach

Mike Phelan Michael Christopher Phelan (born 24 September 1962) is an English professional football coach and former player who is currently a coach at Manchester United. Born in Nelson, Lancashire, he spent most of his playing career at Burnley, Norwich ...

described him as "everything that Manchester United is about" and "an intelligent player who understands his role in the team". His style of play has been heavily influenced by that of former United teammate

, whom he idolizes. He frequently performs Ronaldo's iconic goal celebrations when scoring goals himself.

Personal life

Garnacho was born in Madrid to a Spanish father, Alex Garnacho, and an Argentine mother, Patricia Ferreyra Fernández. He has a younger brother named Roberto. His father Alex is closely associated with management firm, Leader Sports Management, who currently represent Garnacho. Garnacho and his girlfriend, Eva, have a son, Enzo, who was born on 4 October 2023.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Manchester United U18 *

: 2021–22 Manchester United *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 2023–24 *

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Argentina *

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

Individual *

: 2023–24 *

: November 2023 *

: 2021–22 *

Maurice Revello Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a football tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams comp ...

Revelation Player:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

*Maurice Revello Tournament Best XI:

*Maurice Revello Tournament Goal of the Tournament: 2022 * IFFHS Men's World Youth (U20) Team: 2023 * BBC Goal of the Season: 2023–24 *

Goal of the Season: 2023–24 (vs. Everton, 26 November 2023)

References

External links

Profile
at ManUtd.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Garnacho, Alejandro 2004 births Living people Footballers from Madrid Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's youth international footballers Argentina men's international footballers Spanish men's footballers Spain men's youth international footballers Argentine sportspeople of Spanish descent Spanish people of Argentine descent Sportspeople of Argentine descent Men's association football wingers Manchester United F.C. players Premier League players 2024 Copa América players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Copa América-winning players