Things are not going well for Henrikh Mkhitaryan right now.
The Manchester United midfielder hasn’t started a match for the Red Devils since November 5 and is reportedly close to a January exit from Old Trafford.
Having played a big part for United last season, he finds himself well out of favour with his manager with fans questioning why.
Now it appears there’s an interesting theory doing the rounds that suggests Mkhitaryan may have put his foot in it back in October at FIFA’s ‘The Best’ awards.
Matt Hughes of The Times notes that Mkhitaryan’s snub of his current manager at FIFA’s ‘The Best’ awards may have led to his freezing out at the club.
As captain of Armenia, Mkhitaryan was given a vote for the best three managers in the world, and he opted for Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane, Juventus’ Massimiliano Allegri and Monaco’s Leonardo Jardim.
Fair enough you might think, but it is common for players to go the easier route and simply vote for their club manager in this sort of thing.
For example, Eden Hazard chose Antonio Conte while Lionel Messi opted for Luis Enrique – but Mkhitaryan went for the coaches he probably genuinely believed are the top three – and it didn’t feature Mourinho.
In The Times, Hughes notes Mkhitaryan has only made two starts since the vote was made public on October 23, and adds that his paranoia may be understandable.