Messi’s picture in United’s dressing room: Manchester United have the picture of Lionel Messi in their academy’s dressing room.
Manchester United’s academy dressing room has a picture of Lionel Messi cleaning his boots.
The picture is from an international game in 2014, before Argentina took the field against Croatia at Upton Park. An article by Henry Winter on Manchester United’s academy reveals the reason behind the picture of the Barca star in the dressing room.
The picture of Messi serves as a reminder to the academy footballers to stay grounded. The message behind the picture is simple – If arguably the best player in the world is cleaning his own boots, the academy graduates are also expected to adopt a similar mentality.
The article also focusses on Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay, who rose through the ranks at the academy, and is currently a first-team player at the club.
Messi’s picture in United’s dressing room:
Scott McTominay might be a first-team footballer at Manchester United, but the article states that he doesn’t park his car in the first-team car park.
“Scott McTominay still leaves his car round the front at Carrington, rather than in the first-team car park at the back. Academy hopefuls note this too,” a paragraph on the article reads.
Winter also wrote about French midfielder Paul Pogba, who has often remained in controversy due to his fall-out with former manager Jose Mourinho.
“They also see Paul Pogba strolling over to greet his old coaches.
“They understand the dedication and humility required to make it at Manchester United.”
Pogba was a part of Manchester United’s academy before leaving the club for Juventus, due to lack of opportunities in the first-team. However, he made a return to Old Trafford in 2016.
What next?
Manchester United have had a struggling season so far. The club parted ways with Jose Mourinho last week, two days after a 3-1 loss to Liverpool. They appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the new manager until the end of the season.
Solskjaer’s debut game as the manager of the side resulted in an emphatic 5-1 win, and United is currently 8 points behind the fourth-placed Chelsea. The club will now face Huddersfield on Boxing Day kick-off later this evening.
