England legend Rio Ferdinand recently stirred controversy between Alejandro Garnacho and Lionel Messi, claiming that the Inter Miami star unfollowed the youngster due to his love for Cristiano Ronaldo. Garnacho has claimed in the past that he is a Ronaldo fan, but Ferdinand’s claim added some spice to it.
The claim attracted more heat after Garnacho’s bicycle kick goal against Everton on November last month, as United went to seal a 3-0 win at Goodison Park. Lashing out at Ferdinand, Garnacho’s brother took to social media that it is a lie, stating that Messi never followed his countryman. He also asked Ferdinand not to make up rumours, and labelled Garnacho as a fan of both players.
Speaking via DSports, Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes opened up on Garnacho’s relationship with the national team, and opined that it’s normal for him to be a Ronaldo fan. “We joked about it with him. He is very shy and does not answer. Poor guy, we drove him crazy. We also talked to him about what the group is, somehow we try to make them feel part of it and feel comfortable. Although in this case he got very nervous and couldn’t talk,” he said.
“But as he said, I think he is his idol, he always followed him a lot and he plays quite similar. So it’s normal, nothing happens. Obviously, when he comes to the national team he has to change a little bit because there is ours,” he further added.
Garnacho is a United youth product, joining their system from Atletico Madrid in 2020. He made his senior debut during the 2022-23 season, when Ronaldo was part of the squad. Garnacho was part of the playing XI which lost to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, which also saw them fail to reach the knockout rounds. United finished last in Group A, with four points from six matches.
