Manchester United have sent their entire first team squad on holiday after successfully qualifying for the Europa League with a game to spare.
The twenty-times English champions finally won the race not to finish top four by drawing 1-1 with already relegated Huddersfield on Sunday. And as a reward for their endeavours on the pitch, the club decided to give the squad the rest of the season off. The United players were informed by a text sent by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward which read:
“Congratulations lads on qualifying for the Europa League with a game to go. As a little treat, we’ve decided to let you all go on holiday early this year.
“Don’t worry about the Cardiff game. I’m sure we’ll scrape eleven players together from somewhere. All the best, Ed.”
Upon receiving the news, the United players packed suitcases before making their way to Manchester Airport. French World Cup winner Paul Pogba uploaded a pic of a pint of lager and a packet of scampi fries he took in the departure lounge to Facebook and let everyone know he was off to Madrid.
The former Juventus star posted the photo of his beer and foul-smelling savoury snack along with a caption reading “And so it begins”, accompanied by a few sunny emojis.
£500k-per-week forward Alexis Sanchez uploaded a photo of his oiled-up legs to Instagram while lying on a sun lounger in his native Chile. The former Barcelona striker told his 9.7 million followers he was “living his best life”.
Juan Mata and Ander Herrera told their Twitter followers they were holidaying together in Benidorm. The Spanish duo took photos of one another standing on the balcony of their hotel apartment before dining in a nearby Tapas restaurant.
Meanwhile, defender Phil Jones posted a pic of himself stood in front of the bathroom mirror wearing a bikini while on a lad’s holiday to Magaluf with Chris Smalling. Ahead of Sunday’s final home against Cardiff, United have drafted in the likes of Mick Hucknall, William Prunier, Olly Murs, Bebe, Eric Djemba Djemba and Fred the Red.
The team in full:
GK Massimo Taibi
RB Olly Murs
CB William Prunier
CB Fred the Red
LB Eamon Holmes
MD Eric Djemba-Djemba
MD Kleberson
MD Angus Deayton
FW Bebe
FW David Bellion
FW Mick Hucknall
Paddy Power News asked United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer if his side would struggle against the Bluebirds with his first team squad on holiday.
“Most of the bastards were already on holiday against Huddersfield”, quipped the Norwegian. The 46-year-old manager spent the remainder of the press conference browsing travel website lastminute.com on his phone, just in case Ed Woodward decided to give him the sack.
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