A year after they got into a fight on the practice pitch, Manchester United will release both Alex Telles and Hannibal Mejbri this summer.
Erik ten Hag, the manager of United, wants to oversee a team purge this summer. Harry Maguire, the club captain, David de Gea, a veteran custodian, Fred, a combative midfielder, and Anthony Martial are some of the most well-known players the club will try to offload this window.
Ten Hag is anxious to increase transfer funds and reduce United’s labor expense so that he can expand his team. He wants to increase quality and raise the bar for starting positions in his side while reducing the quantity in the club’s overstretched roster.
Just before United manager Ten Hag took the helm at Old Trafford last May, Telles and Hannibal got into a fight on the practice pitch. The internal fallout followed United’s embarrassing 4-0 loss away at Brighton at the close of the previous season, when morale was at an all-time low under then temporary manager Ralf Rangnick.
Ten Hag was made aware of the situation, as well as how Rangnick had abruptly halted that particular training session because of the incident, despite the fact that he was not in the dugout at the time.
Telles joined Sevilla on a season-long loan, but the Spanish team will not make a permanent signing of the player this summer. The Brazilian, who arrived from Porto in 2020, will be looked for by United to locate another willing bidder.
The left-back played 38 times for the Andalusian team in all competitions last season, starting against Roma in the Europa League final. He only started 15 La Liga games, and his permanent signing is not desired.
At Birmingham City, where he spent the entire season, Hannibal scored once in 41 appearances, 23 of which came at the opening of the game. United will want to offload the midfielder permanently this summer; he is now 20 years old.
At the senior international level for Tunisia, Hannibal has received 24 caps. 2019 saw him go from Monaco to United after being scouted by teams including Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain. He made three senior appearances for United, including the opening kick of the season finale, a loss against Crystal Palace, in 2021–2022.