Tyrell Malacia has revealed he was bombed out of Ruben Amorim‘s first team squad with no explanation, as the Man United flop opened up on his nightmare spell at Old Trafford.
Malacia, 27, enjoyed a strong debut campaign under Erik ten Hag following his £14.6m arrival in 2022, before a complicated knee injury left the full-back sidelined for 18 months.
By the time he returned to full fitness, ten Hag had made way for Amorim and Malacia had been shipped out on loan to PSV Eindhoven for six months, returning for pre-season in 2025 hoping for a fresh start.
However, before a ball had been kicked at Carrington, United announced that Malacia, along with Marcus Rashford, Antony, Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho, would train separately from Amorim’s squad and had no future at the club under the Portuguese.
Malacia, who now plays for MLS side FC Cincinnati, is still none the wiser as to the reasoning behind his exile.
Tyrell Malacia has revealed how Ruben Amorim brutally exiled him from his Man United squad
Malacia, who now plays in the MLS, was shunned by the former United boss last summer
‘I don’t know where that came from, I don’t know if it was Ruben or higher up or anything, but I never said anything about it, I just kept working and doing my thing even though it was difficult sometimes training in a group of five,’ he told BBC Sport.
‘At some point Marcus, Garnacho and even Antony left. Then I stayed on my own, training with the second team, even with the under-18s and below. It’s tough. It’s tough mentally.
‘I could have said ‘OK, I’m not coming into training’. But I thought ‘that’s not going to help me’. It’s a reason for them to say ‘this is the reason you are with them or training on your own’. I just kept my head down and did the work.
‘I always stayed fit since I came back from my injury, but people didn’t know that. They were like ‘why is he not playing?’.’
Amorim had a change of heart and Malacia featured in the Portuguese’s matchday squads from late November until his explosive exit in the New Year.
Despite this, Malacia had his heart set on a January exit and held frank discussions with incoming interim boss Michael Carrick over his future.
‘I had a good conversation with Michael [Carrick] when he came,’ said Malacia. ‘Obviously, I wanted to leave, then some injuries came so I couldn’t leave because of the numbers in the squad.
‘That was difficult to accept. I was like ‘I’m not going to play but I’m not allowed to leave so what’s the point of me staying here’. Then he explained to me.
‘At the end of the day everybody is there for themselves. I’m there for myself obviously in the first place and then obviously the team but also the manager is there for himself, he needs to save his job or do his job well.’
Malacia featured off the bench away to Newcastle on March 5, and was given the opportunity to say farewell to United fans against Brighton on May 24.
‘Still, I don’t regret anything,’ he said. ‘I had a great time in my first season and the people who worked there and the players I met there were amazing, so, nah, I really enjoyed my time.’
