Ralf Rangnick facing dressing room revolt over Jesse Lingard exclusion

Ralf Rangnick is facing further dressing room unrest at Manchester United over his treatment of Jesse Lingard.

England international Lingard was denied a move away from Old Trafford during the January transfer window and was then excluded from the squad which lost to Middlesbrough on penalties in the FA Cup.

Rangnick had said Lingard asked for time off to “clear his mind”, but the former West Ham loanee then went on social media and claimed United had told him to have another break.

After the game, Rangnick said: “With Jesse, I told you what my information was and my knowledge was, and of course, I would have loved to have had Jesse in the squad.

“We were one outfield player less on the teamsheet today, so why would I have allowed him to have four or five days off? I would have loved to have had him in the squad but it was not the case and therefore, it doesn’t make sense to speak about players who were not available.”

According to The Mirror, Rangnick’s treatment of Lingard has gone down poorly with the United squad. They claim senior United players want such problems addressed in-house and don’t understand why Rangnick has gone public with team issues.

Rangnick had a similar availability squabble with Anthony Martial, who claimed he was fit and ready to play when Rangnick said he had asked not to be included in the squad to face Brentford in December.

Unlike Lingard, a January exit was found for Martial, who has now joined Sevilla on loan until the end of the season.

It was claimed back in December that as many as 11 members of the United squad had grown disillusioned at the club as a result of being underplayed, and cliques had formed among the group.

United crashed out of the FA Cup on Friday night. Jadon Sancho had given them the lead but the Red Devils missed a host of opportunities – including a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty – before Matt Crooks turned in Duncan Watmore’s controversial assist for the equaliser.

Anthony Elanga then missed the decisive penalty as Boro secured a famous victory.