Tyrell Malacia told BBC Sport he does not know why he was demoted into an isolated training group at Manchester United and described the mental toll of the end of his Old Trafford spell. Malacia now represents FC Cincinnati in Major League Soccer.
Unclear over the decision
Speaking to BBC Sport, Malacia said he remains unaware of why he was moved out of the main group. He said: "I don't know where that came from, I don't know if it was Ruben or higher up or anything, but I never said anything about it, I just kept working and doing my thing even though it was difficult sometimes training in a group of five."
Training in different groups
Malacia said he trained in a group of five, then on his own, with the second team and with the under-18s and below. He said: "At some point Marcus, Garnacho, and even Antony left. Then I stayed on my own, training with the second team, even with the under-18s and below. It's tough. It's tough mentally."
He also said: "I always stayed fit since I came back from my injury, but people didn't know that. They were like 'why is he not playing?'."
Why he kept reporting for training
Malacia said he kept training and did not stop coming in because he did not want to give the club a reason to say that was why he was with that group or training on his own. He said: "I could have said 'OK, I'm not coming into training'. But I thought 'that's not going to help me'. It's a reason for them to say 'this is the reason you are with them or training on your own'. I just kept my head down and did the work."
Wanted to leave but stayed
Malacia said that after Michael came, he wanted to leave, but injuries in the squad meant he could not leave because of the numbers in the squad. He said: "I had a good conversation with Michael when he came."
He added: "Obviously, I wanted to leave, then some injuries came so I couldn't leave because of the numbers in the squad. That was difficult to accept. I was like 'I'm not going to play but I'm not allowed to leave so what's the point of me staying here'. Then he explained to me."
Despite the turbulent end, he holds no ill will: "Still, I don't regret anything. I had a great time in my first season and the people who worked there and the players I met there were amazing, so, nah, I really enjoyed my time."