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11th April 2024
10:55am BST
Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Scholes has publicly criticised current Manchester United stars Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo for having poor standards during a training session.
The 49-year-old reposted an image shared on the official Manchester United Instagram page of the two youngsters with their hoods up and wearing hats and gloves during a rainy practice session.
Over the image of the pair, the 11-time Premier League winner wrote the caption: "Don't mind hats and gloves but no way can you train properly with your hood up....standards begin on the training pitch....bye!"
Both Mainoo and Garnacho have been arguably United's most impactful assets in recent weeks, with the pair performing well in last Sunday's draw with Liverpool at Old Trafford. 18-year-old Mainoo scored the goal that ended up securing the draw in the game.
This isn't the first time Scholes has voiced his dissatisfaction online at the standards of modern-day footballers.
In January, the Manchester native called out former United player Jesse Lingard with an expletive Instagram post.
The 31-year-old had posted a series of photos to Instagram showing off his gym work while in Dubai. At the time, Lingard was a free agent and on the lookout for a new club to call home.
Since then, he has signed for K League side FC Seoul, where he has been criticised by the team's coach for his 'lack of effort'.
Scholes, who has never been one to mince his words, had some strong words for Lingard and urged him to try and make a return to football.
On a photo of Lingard doing what seemed like an ab workout, he wrote: "Are you just gonna f**k about in the gym or are you actually gonna play football?"
Scholes' former teammate Roy Keane has been more complimentary of United's youngsters as of late.
The former United captain turned Sky Sports pundit had words of encouragement for 18-year-old Mainoo from Stockport.
The Cork native insisted that the club’s more experienced players had a duty to guide the 18-year-old.
"He’s a smart, intelligent footballer and he can go right to the very top," Keane said.
"The senior players will need to keep him grounded, make sure he learns, but he’s got the composure and we’ve seen that already.
"Defensively, he can get around the pitch but the kid has a chance, obviously."
Some fans on social media accused Scholes of being too harsh, while others thought the former midfield dynamo had a point.
One Twitter user wrote: "Scholes should leave those player to enjoy their time, his time has passed."
Another argued: "He did good for calling it out. It makes no sense honestly."
One other person commented: "And yet they’re the best players on the team. regardless of the hoodies."
United are currently 6th in the Premier League table - eleven points off Aston Villa in 5th, but with a game in hand.
Erik Ten Hag takes his side down to Bournemouth on Saturday for a 5:30 pm kick-off.
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