Manchester United defensive midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has suffered a second season collapse amidst the latest turmoil at Old Trafford, going from arguably the brightest spot in the 2023/24 campaign to a real sour note in an even worse 2024/25 campaign for the Red Devils.
After playing a vital role in Manchester United winning the FA Cup and, thus, qualifying for the Europa League for the 2024/25 season, Mainoo is now a bit player for Man United, struggling in 15 starts and getting pipped back in the pecking order.
Now, there are rampant rumblings that Mainoo is one step away from exiting Old Trafford, owing to hefty wage demands that the increasingly stringent INEOS-led Red Devils may no longer be interested in acquiescing to.
According to a report from chief talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook, Mainoo is demanding 150,000 pounds per week in wages from Manchester United and is holding firm on these demands.
Kobbie Mainoo, Manchester United at an impasse
That has led to a transfer standstill between Manchester United and Mainoo, and this impasse threatens to take the talented homegrown 19-year-old away from Old Trafford.
Mainoo, per Crook, would like to stay at Manchester United, contrary to other reports around the transfer rumor mill, but he is hoping the club will pay him salary that reflects how he feels his value contributes to the club.
The thing is, detractors and many diehard Manchester United fans will point out that if Mainoo wants to be paid based on his current value, then he had better humble up and ask for something more reasonable since he’s an unproven kid who is currently playing some poor football.
His WhoScored rating of 6.54 across 15 starts this season makes him one of the least effective defensive midfielders in the Premier League and worth approximately one-third of the salary he is requesting.
Mainoo could afford a bump in salary based on the quality he showed and the way he lifted up Manchester United last season, but the honeymoon period of his meteoric rise is a thing of the past.
With Manchester United struggling as a team and now Mainoo making a stink about money on a side where leadership and accountability have been lacking, there may be a groundswell of support from sections of the fanbase to turn on players like Mainoo who remind them of young, entitled, flash-in-the-pan flops of yesteryear.
From emerging leader to zero, if Mainoo isn’t careful, he could be run out of town by Man United fans turning on him. It could get ugly if he and his agent don’t cool their demands down.
