EXCLUSIVE
Mark Goldbridge has hit back at claims he is ‘toxic’ for Manchester United after hitting the headlines.
One of the talkSPORT host’s posts on X, formerly Twitter, has led to Alejandro Garnacho being spoken to by the club.
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Garnacho liked a post by Goldbridge that criticised his half-time substitution in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, with the message also suggesting that he had been ‘thrown under the bus’ by Erik ten Hag.
The winger quickly removed the likes and is believed to have been spoken to by Ten Hag.
The United Stand host joined talkSPORT Breakfast on Tuesday and responded to claims from Manchester United season ticket holder Shaun who called him ‘toxic’ for the club.
Goldbridge responded by saying: “You get these people and I’ve not got a problem with it. They definitely don’t watch the content, I’d love to know what I’ve said that’s toxic over the last year. Maybe Shaun can let me know.
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“I think there's a misconception of things people don’t watch. I’m not going to judge Eastenders because I don’t watch it.
“I don’t want the manager to be sacked, is that toxic? I wanted [Marcus] Rashford back in the team after he’d been drinking, is that toxic? I’m backing a 19-year-old who has been good for us this season.
“People are entitled to their opinion, but I think they need to be educated around silly words like that.”
Commenting on his social media activity, Goldbridge added: “Apparently you can’t tweet now. I’m the biggest problem at Manchester United. Not the Glazers, not the manager.
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“I put a tweet out as a fan, and it’s not my fault he liked it. I’m certainly not apologising for it, I stand by what I said.”
Garnacho has been one of the bright spots for United this season, racking up nine goals and four assists in 42 games in all competitions.
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Goldbridge doubled down on his view that Ten Hag was wrong to publicly call out the teenager.
He continued: “You do say things in a game that is in the heat of the moment, but that is after the game. I didn’t really understand the substitution and I don’t think I misinterpreted it.
“Twice he said there was a problem down the right hand side, Garnacho did make two mistakes that led to the goal.
“Subtly, I think he was calling out Garnacho for not having a good game.
"My problem with that is I’ve seen Casemiro, Rashford and other more experienced players be bad for Manchester United for a long, long time.
“You’ve got a 19-year-old who has been good for us this season and I thought he was basically calling him out, which is a bit inconsistent and that was my point really.
“With the first goal, Rasmus [Hojlund] plays the ball into him and he loses it and it directly leads to [Dominic] Solanke scoring.
“I don’t think anybody would deny that, but I think across a season you have money in the bank with a manager and I just felt that Casemiro was so bad and has been for the last month.
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“Jamie Redknapp said it was like he was playing in Soccer Aid, as much as that’s banter, it’s true. I know some managers do it differently, but I didn’t like that.
"Saturday was the tipping point for Ten Hag where some of his selections, substitutions and style of football where he thinks he is going to win and then Bournemouth dominated us.
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"There’s frustrations among the fan base. I think United fans have got every right to be frustrated.
"It’s so hard to watch us at the moment, we are getting dominated by teams who basically just out try us and that’s a fact.”