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Social media is not Ralf’s bag
Ralf Rangnick has told his Manchester United players: Talk to me in person instead of venting on social media.
The German’s comments come in the wake of Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial, who is currently on loan at Sevilla, posting contradictory messages after being omitted from first-team squads last month.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s Premier League game with Burnley, Rangnick said: “It’s always better [to communicate in person].
“I never, ever read or communicate by social media accounts, I don’t even exist there, to be honest, I wouldn’t have time to do that.
“Therefore, it’s always better [to communicate in person]. I always communicate with the players directly, like I did with Martial and with Jesse.
“But maybe I am a different generation, my generation never grew up with these kinds of things.
“For me, it’s always better to communicate directly, but again it’s time to look ahead.
“I know in both cases what I said to the players and what happened, so for me, there is no reason to discuss this anymore.”
Mental health battles
Chris Sutton and Micah Richards have spoken about the difficulties footballers can experience with their mental health.
In the wake of Wayne Rooney revealing he turned to drink to cope with the pressures of fame, the duo gave their thoughts on BBC Radio 5 live’s Monday Night Club.
Sutton, 48, enjoyed prolific spells with Norwich, Blackburn and Celtic before hanging up his boots — but things did not go well during his season with Chelsea in 1999-2000, when he netted just one Premier League goal.
The former striker said: “I can laugh about it now but in my time at Chelsea when I was going through a difficult phase I’d keep things to myself.
“When things were going wrong and I was the laughing stock in the national press and there were caricatures, I used to behave like I didn’t care but it killed me and I was too ashamed to speak to my dad about it and my wife.
“That had a big effect on me. Eventually I worked my way out of it.”
Richards, 33, won the Premier League and FA Cup with Manchester City and has built a successful career as a pundit since retiring in 2019.
But he struggled during his final days as a player at Aston Villa due to injuries restricting his appearances.
The former England defender said: “I was going into Villa every week borderline depressed.
“Going in there as a cheerleader and putting on a brave face because that was my role within the team.
“But if I actually told you the honest conversation about what used to happen when I used to go to the training ground, it got to the situation where I was being treated like a piece of meat.
“I understood that was football and got on with it, I didn’t come out and call people out and feel sorry for myself.
“Now I can be my own person and that is why I am happy. I embrace all the opportunities football has given me but I am not going to pretend like I wasn’t in a bad place. I can sympathise with Rooney.”
