African legend praised after United exit

Manchester United first team coach Benni McCarthy during a training session at Trafford Training Centre, Manchester.

Friday Jul 12, 2024. 11:00

Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag reserved special praise for South African football legend Benni McCarthy following his departure from Carrington this week.

The former AmaZulu and Cape Town City mentor served as United’s striker coach for the last two years and was largely credited for getting the best out of Marcus Rashford, particularly during the 2022/23 season where the Englishman scored 30 goals in 56 games in all competitions.

With United revamping their technical team with the appointments of Rene Hake and Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ten Hag thanked Benni for his ‘important’ contributions made during the last two campaigns.

“Mitchell has decided that now is the right time for him to pursue his own ambitions in a number one position,” Ten Hag said, as per the official United website.

“I want to pay tribute to his fantastic service over the past two years, and also to Benni for his important contributions. We send them our thanks and best wishes for the future.”