"Given everything for the club" - Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund claims it's a 'shame' if Copenhagen fans' boos were directed at him
Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund has admitted he was disappointed to hear boos from Copenhagen fans after netting a brace against his former club.
Hojlund scored twice in the 10-man Red Devils' shock 4-3 loss to the Danish outfit in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday (November 8). The 20-year-old lasted until the 84th minute when he was replaced by Mason Mount.
However, the former Copenhagen striker appeared to receive boos when leaving the field of play. He hopes that this wasn't the case because of his contributions for the Superliga side during his spell at Parken (via Sport Witness):
"I don’t know if it was against me or others. But if it was against me, I think it’s a shame, because I’ve given everything for the club. Of course it’s a shame if it was directed at me. But if it wasn’t for me, I wouldn’t take it so seriously."
Hojlund spent two years with Copenhagen, rising through the youth ranks before going on to score five goals in 32 games at the senior level. He left Parken in January 2022 and joined Austrian outfit Sturm Graz.
The Denmark international alluded to his celebrations after scoring both his goals:
"When I score, I celebrate, that’s clear. And I did it to our own fans. So it had nothing to do with anything. I’m happy to score goals, so I cheer for our fans. I think it was special. I was inside the FCK dressing room before the match, but as I said, I play for Manchester United, and I hope that we win every match."
Hojlund was one of the only few positives that Erik ten Hag could take from the disappointing loss to Copenhagen. The Danish frontman has taken his tally for Manchester United to five goals in 14 games across competitions.
However, all of those goals have come in four Champions League games, making him the competition's joint-top scorer.
Atalanta proud of their business selling Hojlund to Manchester United
Manchester United forked out £72 million to sign Hojlund from Serie A side Atalanta in the summer. He is the club's most expensive U21 signing in history.
Atalanta drove a hard bargain over Hojlund, not willing to sell below their valuation. Their director Luca Percassi doesn't regret parting with the exciting young forward and explained the process of finding and selling promising talents (via Football Italia):
"We sold Hojlund for a great price and that makes us proud. We have many collaborators, some of them silent, who work well behind the scenes to find these talents. We know who we are and where we come from, that mentality will never change.”
Hojlund isn't the first youngster to arrive at Manchester United from Atalanta. The Red Devils also signed Amad Diallo from La Dea for £37 million after his stock grew in Serie A.