Alejandro Garnacho

Alejandro Garnacho Ferreyra (born 1 July 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Manchester United. Born in Spain, he plays for the Argentina national team.

Garnacho joined Manchester United's youth system from Atlético Madrid in October 2020. He won the FA Youth Cup and the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year 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 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.

Early career
Born in Madrid, Garnacho joined Atlético Madrid's youth system in 2015 from Getafe.

Youth career
In October 2020, Garnacho joined the Manchester United Academy. 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 FA Youth Cup 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 Premier League matches, Garnacho made his first-team debut for United on 28 April, replacing Anthony Elanga in the 91st minute of a 1–1 draw against Chelsea. Garnacho won the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year 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 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 in the 2022–23 EFL Trophy. Garnacho made his first senior start for United on 27 October, in a 3–0 win over Moldovan team Sheriff Tiraspol in the UEFA Europa League, whereafter he was praised by manager Erik ten Hag 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 with an assist from his idol Cristiano Ronaldo. Garnacho scored his first goal in the Premier League on 13 November, an injury-time winner against Fulham. 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. On 14 March, Garnacho announced he would be sidelined for several weeks after suffering an ankle ligament injury during a game against Southampton. 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
Before the 2023–24 Premier League season, Manchester United 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 15 yards out to open the scoring in a 3–0 win over Everton, earning him the Premier League Goal of the Month for November 2023, and eventually the Premier League Goal of the Season. 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. 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, and he also became the second Argentinian to score after Ricardo Villa’s brace for Tottenham Hotspur also against City in 1981.

International career
Garnacho was eligible to play for his country of birth, Spain, and Argentina, 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 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. He scored four goals in four appearances for the under-20 team at the 2022 Maurice Revello Tournament 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 and Curaçao, 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 at Workers' Stadium, coming on as a substitute for Nicolás González during the second half of the game.

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

Personal life
Garnacho was born 1 July 2004 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.

Honours
Manchester United U18
 * FA Youth Cup: 2021–22

Manchester United
 * FA Cup: 2023–24; runner-up: 2022–23
 * EFL Cup: 2022–23

Argentina
 * Copa América: 2024

Individual
 * Premier League Goal of the Season: 2023–24
 * Premier League Goal of the Month: November 2023
 * Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year: 2021–22
 * Maurice Revello Tournament Revelation Player: 2022
 * Maurice Revello Tournament Best XI: 2022
 * Maurice Revello Tournament Goal of the Tournament: 2022
 * IFFHS Men's World Youth (U20) Team: 2023
 * BBC Goal of the Season: 2023–24
 * Manchester United Goal of the Season: 2023–24 (vs. Everton, 26 November 2023)