Tyrell Malacia Breaks Silence on Man Utd ‘Bomb Squad’ Treatment Under Ruben Amorim

Tyrell Malacia says he was never told why he was put in Ruben Amorim's "bomb squad" at Manchester United, and that training away from the first team took a heavy toll on his mind.

The 27-year-old Dutch defender, who now plays for FC Cincinnati in MLS, spoke to BBC Sport about the end of his time at Old Trafford. 

He joined United for £14.6 million in 2022 and had a promising first season under Erik ten Hag, but a serious knee injury kept him out for 18 months. 

After a six-month loan at PSV Eindhoven, he came back for the 2025 pre-season hoping for a fresh start. By then Ten Hag had gone and Amorim was in charge, and Malacia was pushed out of the senior group.

Before the season began, United confirmed he would train on his own. He was put with Marcus Rashford, Antony, Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho.

Malacia says he still does not know where the decision came from. "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," he explained. 

"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 chose not to kick up a fuss. "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."

He also felt people had the wrong idea about his fitness. "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?'."

Amorim brought him back into matchday squads in late November, shortly before the manager left in the New Year. Michael Carrick then took over as interim boss, and Malacia asked to leave in January. The request was turned down because of injuries in the squad.

"I had a good conversation with Michael when he came," Malacia revealed. "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.

"At the end of the day everybody is there for themselves. I'm there for myself obviously in the first place and then obviously the team but also the manager is there for himself, he needs to save his job or do his job well."

Even so, he has no hard feelings. "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."

Malacia came off the bench against Newcastle on March 5 and said goodbye to the home fans against Brighton on May 24. 

He has now left the Premier League behind, and in the US he will aim to prove his fitness and find the form that first got him the move to Manchester.