Angel Gomes reveals 'weight of the shirt' issue hampering Man Utd stars

Former youngster believes the weight of the shirt may have stood in the way of some players succeeding for the club. United finished 16th in the league last season, and will not play in Europe in any capacity next term after losing the final, but some of their former stars have thrived away from Old Trafford.

Gomes is certainly one of that number, impressing at Lille and earning a summer switch to fellow Ligue 1 side Marseille. , the former United forward who scored a career-best 22 goals in all competitions last season.

Elsewhere in Europe, enjoyed the best scoring season of his own career last term to . McTominay's former United team-mate was also part of that title-winning squad, while former United players Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alexis Sanchez and Matteo Darmian won the same competition with Inter Milan 12 months earlier.

""Players may have been intimidated or not really know about the weight, what it carries and what it takes," Gomes told . "But ultimately, sometimes, it's down to environment, timing and having the right things in place to help you.

"Some players who have left and gone on to do better than when they were at United, there might be things in place at that certain club, at that moment in time, that helped them succeed. Sometimes it's not as black and white as they failed or they've not held their own there because of the weight of the shirt."

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Gomes became United's youngest ever Premier League player when he made his debut at the age of 16, but left in 2020 with just 10 senior outings to his name. His form at Lille really caught the eye, earning him a senior England bow under Lee Carsley, and he maintains it was the right decision to leave Old Trafford.

"It was obviously a difficult process because there are a lot of things that pull you towards staying," he added. "But then you have to think about what is right for your career. There were a lot of things I sacrificed."

Gomes thrived for England's Under-21s during his time at Lille, helping the team win the 2023 European Under-21 Championships under Carsley. He made his senior debut under the same manager at the age of 24, featuring in four of the Three Lions' six UEFA Nations League matches in the autumn of 2024.

“He’s a player that we’re probably not used to seeing in terms of that kind of player," upon handing Gomes his first call-up. "But yet when we watched a Portugal team or a Spain team: ‘Ah, I really like that No.10. I really like him.’ We’ve got players like that within our pathway that need a chance.

“Angel has had to go to another country to get that. He was such a talent, they had such high hopes for him at . He’s just had to find a different route to get to where he is. I expect him to go from strength to strength.”