"He was too big for his boots" - Paul Scholes claims Manchester United youngster has attitude issue because of Lionel Messi

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has suggested that playing with Lionel Messi could have led to Red Devils starlet Alejandro Garnacho having attitude problems earlier this season.

Manchester United beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in their final UEFA Europa League group stage match on Thursday (3rd November). Starring in the match for them that night was Garnacho.

Garnacho, who was handed his second start for the Red Devils, marked the occasion by grabbing the winner. He notably borrowed Cristiano Ronaldo's new goal celebration after finding the back of the net.

The winger earned plenty of plaudits for his display against Sociedad, including from Bruno Fernandes. However, the Portuguese attacker also claimed that the 18-year-old did not have the right attitude at the start of the season. He said on BT Sport [via The Mirror]:

"He did well tonight [Thursday; ed.], but he knows we still expect a lot from him. He did not start the best during pre-season and maybe did not have the attitude that he should have had. But he has changed that now and you can see that with his performances on the pitch."

Fernandes' statements caught the attention of pundits and prompted a response from Scholes. The Manchester United great floated a theory that rubbing shoulders with Lionel Messi while on international duty could have sparked Garnacho's attitude problems. He said:

"He [Fernandes] said that was in pre-season, so maybe he was too big for his boots in the summer. He did go with Argentina and play with Messi, and maybe he has come back and thought 'this is me and I am part of this team'."

The Englishman added:

"He's a young lad, he is going to learn and we are going to see the benefits of that."

Garnacho has made five appearances across all competitions for Manchester United this term. Having scored his first goal for the club on Thursday, he will now be looking to add more to his tally in the coming months.

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Manchester United's Garnacho trained with Lionel Messi in March

Manchester United starlet Garnacho was called up to the Argentina national team in March this year. He was with La Albiceleste for their FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Ecuador.

While Garnacho did not feature for Argentina, he got the opportunity to rub shoulders with Lionel Messi and Co. He is among the fortunate players to have the chance to train with both Messi and Ronaldo.