Manchester United has offered full support and psychological support to winger Amad Diallo after he was subjected to online abuse.
Following the Red Devils' 2-1 Premier League win over Chelsea last Saturday, the winger was hit with a flood of abusive comments on social media after sharing a photo with his former teammate Alejandro Garnacho, who now plays for Chelsea. In the photo Amad posted, the two posed for a picture holding each other's jerseys in the tunnel at Old Trafford.
In response to the online abuse, the 23-year-old Amad has deleted all posts from his personal Instagram account. Manchester United staff then paid him a welfare visit on Monday to check on his mental state. Club insiders admitted that Amad's decision to post the photo was ill-considered, but emphasized that he has regained his composure following the unpleasant incident.
The club believes the Ivorian international possesses a resilient character, which is closely linked to his difficult upbringing in his early years. Amad and Garnacho are also represented by the same agency, and have forged a close friendship since joining Manchester United together in 2020.
Chelsea winger Garnacho, who was an unused substitute in the match, was still repeatedly booed and targeted with abusive chants by home fans during warm-ups. This was related to his last-minute departure during the transfer window last month.
The 21-year-old Garnacho joined Chelsea on August 30 for a £40 million transfer fee, ending his five-year spell with the Red Devils and becoming the fourth-highest transfer fee received by the club for an outgoing player. Sources with knowledge of the situation revealed that Garnacho had consistently pushed for a move throughout the summer window.
Garnacho was originally one of the five members of Manchester United's "bomb squad", with the other four being Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Antony, and Tyrell Malacia. This summer, these five players were required to train separately at different times from the first-team squad. Currently, Malacia still remains at Manchester United and is set to join training sessions with the U21 squad soon.
