MEMPHIS FURY
Depay anger as he is axed for Cup final
MEMPHIS DEPAY’S future at Manchester United was plunged into doubt last night after he was axed from the squad for today’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace at Wembley.
Depay is understood to have reacted angrily to being left out by manager Louis van Gaal and did not travel down to London with the rest of his team-mates. However, the Holland winger later made his own way down to the capital, and is expected to attend today’s game.
Depay has struggled for form since his £31million move from PSV Eindhoven last summer and also been criticised over his attitude, with senior players raising their concerns with him. The 22-year-old has spent an increasing amount of time on the bench and is believed to have been seeking clear-the-air talks with Van Gaal.
However, Depay has been in every one of
United’s squads this season, except for the goalless draw at Palace in October, so his omission today is still a surprise. He was told by Van Gaal on Thursday after the manager admitted that he faced some tough decisions. ‘I have to disappoint players because some of them think they will play,’ he said. It is understood Depay buried his anger in front of his team-mates and wished them good luck for the final before they travelled. Van Gaal also said that winning the FA Cup for the first time since 2004 would rank higher than qualifying for the Champions League but former United midfielder Paul Scholes disagreed. He said that even winning the Cup would mean United had fallen short — and that the Premier League and Champions League were the priorities. ‘A lot of times we would go out of the FA Cup as our team was missing players who were rested for the big Champions League and Premier League games,’ Scholes said. Palace boss Alan Pardew said his team believe they can beat United — unlike in 1990 when he was a player in the final between the two clubs. Pardew said: ‘In 1990, I thought, “we might win” but I didn’t think we could really. But if all goes our way, I think we can — and my players think they can, too.’