Malacia: 'No regrets' after Man Utd 'bomb squad' exile — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Tyrell Malacia says he has "no regrets" about joining Manchester United — "even if I could do it over, I would do the same thing" — despite being exiled to the "bomb squad" and training with the club's under-21, under-18 and under-17 sides at Carrington at his own request.
- Ruben Amorim announced before the summer 2023 pre-season that Malacia, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony would train separately and could leave if a suitable offer arrived; sources said Malacia was not disruptive or a bad influence, and it was never clear what he had done wrong.
- Manchester United brought Malacia back into the first-team fold at the end of September 2025 — he was in Amorim's squad for Brighton on 25 October, came on against Newcastle on Boxing Day and at St James' Park on 5 March, and made his farewell appearance at Brighton on 24 May.
- PSV Eindhoven took Malacia on loan for the rest of the 2024-25 campaign after eight appearances following his return from a year and a half out with two major knee operations, the second following a 2023 operation that did not heal as planned.
- Feyenoord's £13m sale in 2022 delivered Malacia a debut season of 39 appearances, the high point of his United career, but he featured only 11 more times across the following three seasons.
- Michael Carrick's January move for Malacia was held up because United needed cover for Luke Shaw — who never suffered the injury — leaving Malacia "not going to play but not allowed to leave" until his contract expired in the summer.
- FC Cincinnati beat DC United 2-1 on 21 October, with Malacia's start his first of four successive starts since September 2022; the club sit eighth in the Eastern Conference with four regular-season games left, the top nine reaching the playoffs, and he has signed for the 2027 "sprint season" with an option for 2027-28, the first aligned with Europe.
Why it matters: The material loss sits with Manchester United: Malacia says he had stayed fit since November 2024, yet the Luke Shaw injury cover that delayed his January move was never needed, and a player with 39 appearances in his debut season reached his farewell on 24 May. FC Cincinnati gains that experience through 2027-28, its first Europe-aligned season.
Ask SkimNews
