Mazraoui has already broken one of Erik ten Hag’s golden rules at Man Utd

Manchester United-bound defender Noussair Mazraoui has already broken Erik ten Hag’s rule of never publicly questioning his manager’s team selections at Bayern Munich.

United and the German giants are believed to have reached an agreement over Mazraoui’s transfer to Old Trafford. The 26-year-old has already agreed personal terms with the Red Devils in a five-year deal until June 2029, with the option to extend until 2030.

Mazraoui is very much keen to get the deal over the line, though the signing is dependent on whether United can ship out West Ham target Aaron Wan-Bissaka beforehand. The move would see the right-back reunited with his former Ajax boss.

But Ten Hag is unlikely to be impressed by Mazraoui’s conduct during his time with Bayern, having signed from Ajax in May 2022. The Dutchman upon taking charge of United in 2022 immediately laid down the law, implementing hard-line measures.

One of the ways he sought to bring his players into line was by telling them to come and see him personally if they have any problems, instead of going to their agents - which had been the case under previous managers.

Mazraoui broke that non-negotiable in his first season with Bayern. A disappointing campaign saw the Moroccan frustrated by his lack of minutes under head coach Julian Nagelsmann, before going straight to the media to air his grievances.

“I feel forgotten. The situation is disappointing. I’m no longer the 2nd option in my position – but 3rd or 4th,” the player told Bild in an interview.

“If the situation stays like this, that’s not what I want. And not what I deserve. I’ll fight — then we will see.”

Ten Hag will respond to such behaviour with a firm hand, with United players all expected to follow his ground rules. Those who have tested his limits have been disciplined in various ways in the past.

Cristiano Ronaldo was the first big-name United player to fall out with the manager, being exiled after showing his disgruntlement towards not starting matches. The Portuguese legend then had his contract ripped up when he decided to reveal all in a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.

Others who have risked Ten Hag’s wrath over squad selection decisions are Jadon Sancho and youngsters Amad and Alejandro Garnacho. Garnacho liked two tweets from United fan and streamer Mark Goldbridge, which labelled Ten Hag’s decision to take off the Argentine at half-time as a “joke”, and accused the manager of throwing Garnacho under the bus.

After taking back his likes for the two critical tweets, Garnacho was “dealt with internally” and quickly apologised to Ten Hag for his transgression, preventing the situation from developing further.