Ralf Rangnick felt there were 3 'mood killers' in his Manchester United squad: Reports
Former Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick reportedly felt that Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial were mood killers during his tenure in charge. The latter is the only one of three to remain at Old Trafford this season.
Pogba and Cavani both departed the Red Devils last summer following the expiration of their contracts. The French midfielder rejoined Juventus, while the Uruguayan striker joined Valencia.
Rangnick was appointed interim boss of United in November 2021, succeeding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after a poor run of form. The German didn't manage to transform the team's fortunes as they finished sixth in the league and trophyless.
However, the now-Austria national team manager felt that the three players didn't aid him during his time in the Old Trafford hot seat. According to BILD, Rangnick identified that Pogba, Cavani and Martial had too much influence in the dressing room.
The former RB Leipzig coach arrived with many fans envisioning he would implement a new style of football. But that didn't happen, and instead, rumors of unrest behind the scenes came to the surface.
Paul Pogba x Edinson Cavani https://t.co/lyXBU8Yfoj
Pogba was regularly in the line of fire during his time at Manchester United, irrespective of Rangnick being in charge. Fans found issues with the player's attitude and his fitness problems.
Meanwhile, Cavani's short-team spell with the Red Devils was polarizing as he impressed during his debut campaign. However, he took a backseat to Cristiano Ronaldo as the side's main attacking outlet, and his departure was no surprise.
Martial survived new United boss Erik ten Hag's overhaul of the squad during the summer despite being expected to be offloaded. Rangnick sent him out on loan to Sevilla during his reign.
Manchester United manager Ten Hag reacts to Wout Weghorst's first goal for the club
Manchester United sailed to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the first-leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals. Goals from Marcus Rashford, Weghorst and Bruno Fernandes did the damage for Ten Hag's side.
Weghorst grabbed his first goal since joining the Red Devils on a six-month loan deal from Burnley. He showed his striker's instinct to react first to Forest goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey's save from Antony.
Ten Hag was delighted to see the Dutchman on the scoresheet. He explained the impact the imposing forward has had on the side (via BBC Sport):
"It's important for him and for his confidence that he scored that goal," said Ten Hag. He did a great job at Crystal Palace and Arsenal with his pressing, targets and movements."
The Manchester United boss added:
"But strikers are there to score goals and when they don't score they're not happy."
Weghorst gets his first for #mufc 🙏🇳🇱 https://t.co/rGh6TJWOHr
The Red Devils' next game comes in the FA Cup fourth round against Reading at Old Trafford on Saturday (January 28).