Rio Ferdinand warns Man United outcast to not ‘waste’ his profession at Old Trafford – with prime golf equipment queueing as much as signal him

Rio Ferdinand has warned Kobbie Mainoo not to ‘waste’ his career hanging around at Manchester United. 

Mainoo has spent the season as a benchwarmer under Ruben Amorim and saw a request to leave on loan snubbed by club chiefs over the summer. 

Daily Mail Sport has revealed Mainoo’s preferred landing spot in January in this week’s edition of Manchester United Confidential – with a herd of 12 clubs lining up for his services. 

Mainoo got 12 minutes off the bench in the 4-1 win at Wolves on Monday night but is yet to start a Premier League game this season, a fary cry from the golden boy status he enjoyed under Erik ten Hag. 

‘Did you hear the reaction of the fans when Kobbie Mainoo came on the pitch? Great show of support,’ Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel. 

‘I saw [Nicky] Butty and [Paul] Scholesy talking about it on their podcast and I totally agree with them. If I think about it and put myself in Kobbie Mainoo’s shoes I’m out of there, I’ve got to.

‘He was playing for England and [was] one of the best players in the tournament. Not many people can say they’ve done that. He has just wasted 18 months of his career now at Manchester United.

‘He’s probably been there six months longer than he should’ve been. He should’ve just gone and I think his agent and more importantly his family around him have to protect him.’

‘He might be saying I love Manchester United too much to go I want to stay and fight,’ added Ferdinand. 

‘But it is going to be two years in the summer. You can’t lose two years in your career. It’s a short career and you have to make decisions that are best for you.

‘If I was him I’d say: the manager isn’t going to start playing me now. If you’ve not played me in all these matches that have gone before you aren’t going to play me now.

‘Let’s just be honest with each other I’m surplus to requirements. Get me out of here.’

Manchester United’s perspective might be different

Mainoo comes off the bench in most games and is obviously viewed as an important understudy to Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro. 

The 20-year-old is also contracted until 2027, meaning there is no immediate pressure on United to sell, though that will ramp up in the summer. 

Amorim recently declared that he sees Mainoo as a ‘starter like the other players’ – despite only starting him against Grimsby this season – and has responded spikily to questions over the 10-time England international.

‘I just want to win, I try to put the players, I don’t look who it is, I don’t care about that, I’m just trying to put the best players on the pitch,’ Amorim added ahead of the thrashing at Wolves. 

Scholes is another United legend who is increasingly growing vexed at Amorim’s exclusion of the youngster.

‘Bulls***,’ he wrote on Instagram in response to the Portuguese’s ‘starter’ remark. 

‘‘The kid is being ruined, not being played in a team that can’t control a game of football. 

‘Hate seeing homegrown players leave but it’s probably best for him now, enough is enough.’ 

He added on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast: ‘Ruben Amorim has said Kobbie Mainoo is a starter… every appearance he’s made in the Premier League has been as a sub. Things like that wind me up.

‘I wouldn’t mind if he was in a good team and they were winning every week and keeping possession but they’re rubbish. Kobbie is a 20-year-old kid and he’s not playing. He’s going to have to leave. 

‘Do you know what will happen now? Amorim will bring him into a game and he won’t be great but that’s because he needs regular games.

‘Fair enough, as a manager sometimes you just don’t fancy a player. But look at what he’s already done – scored the winner in an FA Cup final, played every game in the Euros.

‘I bet he takes the p*** out of Casemiro every single day in training and is brilliant. I don’t know why the club are letting Amorim treat a homegrown talent like that.’

Butt added: ‘The Kobbie one is an absolute joke. I went to the West Ham game [a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford] and it was an absolute s***show. It was a terrible, boring game”

‘The player to bring on to change the game, in my opinion, was Kobbie Mainoo – but he didn’t get on the pitch. He’ll be another homegrown player who leaves and is a superstar somewhere else.

‘If Mainoo was playing for another Premier League club, United go and buy him for £70m or £80m. Now we’re going to sell him and he’ll be a superstar elsewhere like McTominay, Elanga, Henderson – we can mention loads of them.

‘We’re getting rid of players who love the football club, it’s mind-boggling. I get the [Alejandro] Garnacho one because his attitude and behaviour was terrible but you don’t hear that about Kobbie.

‘He’s a top, top, top player that we are f****** up. Kobbie has got to go. If I’m looking after him I’m telling him “we’re getting you out of that football club.”‘