Tyrell Malacia has no regrets over Man Utd despite Carrington exile
Tyrell Malacia says he would not change a thing about his time at Manchester United, even after a spell in which he was frozen out of the first team and left to train with Carrington’s youth sides to keep himself fit.
The Dutch left-back, now 27 and playing in Major League Soccer, opened up on his four years at Old Trafford in an exclusive interview with BBC Sport published on Friday. His United deal ran out in the summer and he joined FC Cincinnati in September.
“I wouldn’t regret anything, not one bit,” he said. “Even if I could do it over, I would do the same thing because otherwise I wouldn’t be the man I am now.”
From EFL Cup winner to training on his own
Malacia arrived from Feyenoord for £13m in the summer of 2022 and made 39 appearances in his first season under Erik ten Hag, a campaign that ended with the EFL Cup. Knee trouble then changed everything. Two operations kept him out for around 18 months, and he managed only 11 more United appearances across the following three seasons, plus a loan spell at PSV.
When he returned from Eindhoven in the summer of 2025, he was one of five players, alongside Antony, Garnacho, Sancho and Marcus Rashford, told by Ruben Amorim’s regime to train away from the senior squad. As the others left, Malacia stayed behind and worked with the Under-21s, and at times the Under-18s and Under-17s.
“I don’t know where that came from, I don’t know if it was Ruben or higher up or anything, but I never said anything about it, I just kept working and doing my thing even though it was difficult sometimes training in a group of five,” he said. “It’s tough. It’s tough mentally.”
Why Carrick kept him in January
He was reintegrated in late September 2025, came off the bench twice against Newcastle and signed off at Brighton in May. Malacia wanted to go in January, yet Michael Carrick blocked a move so the squad would still have cover at left-back if Luke Shaw was injured.
“That was difficult to accept. I was like ‘I’m not going to play but I’m not allowed to leave so what’s the point of me staying here’. Then he explained to me,” Malacia said.
That decision reads differently now. Shaw and Patrick Dorgu have both been on United’s injury list this month, as our report on eight players missing training before Como showed, and the club’s full-back options have also been a theme in talk of a January move for Wesley França.
A fresh start in Cincinnati
FC Cincinnati confirmed his signing on 18 September on a deal to June 2027 that includes an option for 2027-28. General manager Chris Albright said: “He’s played at the highest levels of the game and understands the demands of competing in those environments.”
His start in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over D.C. United was his fourth in a row, something he had not managed since September 2022. He was part of the move for David Douděra’s opener before making way at half-time, according to the club’s match recap. He did not feature in Saturday’s 2-0 win in the return fixture in Washington.
With Cincinnati chasing a play-off place, Malacia just wants minutes. “The more games for me, the better. I’ve been out for so long now, I just want to play as many games as possible,” he said.
