Tyrell Malacia has no regrets about joining Manchester United even if he had to train with the club's youth players after former manager Ruben Amorim exiled him to his 'bomb squad'.
Dutch left-back Malacia is rebuilding his career in Major League Soccer with FC Cincinnati after his United contract expired in the summer.
The 27-year-old is eager to point out he is fully fit and has been since November 2024, when he returned after a year and a half out following two major knee operations.
Malacia's appearance for FC Cincinnati in their 2-1 victory over DC United on 21 October was the first time he had started four successive games since September 2022, at the beginning of his first season with the Old Trafford outfit following a £13m move from Feyenoord.
That debut campaign under fellow countryman Erik ten Hag was Malacia's high point as a United player, playing 39 times across all competitions.
As it turned out, he would only feature on another 11 occasions in the next three seasons.
"I wouldn't regret anything, not one bit," he said in an exclusive interview with BBC Sport. "Even if I could do it over, I would do the same thing because otherwise I wouldn't be the man I am now."
'I thought I am going to get a fair chance'
That is not to say Malacia is at ease with how it worked out at Old Trafford, even if there is at least an understanding of where Michael Carrick was coming from when the door was closed on the defender leaving in January to ensure United had enough cover if Luke Shaw got injured - which, ironically given how the current campaign is turning out, he never did.
The problem started when Malacia returned for pre-season training in the summer of 2023.
As he recounted in an interview with The Athletic in November 2024, Malacia had ended the 2022-23 campaign feeling discomfort in his left knee. He hoped it would go away in the summer, but it did not. He returned to the Netherlands for surgery, but the healing process did not go as planned and he needed a second operation.
Malacia does not want to go into details but, when he eventually made his comeback, for the Under-21 side in an EFL Trophy defeat at Huddersfield, he expected it to be the start of a road back to the first team, which by now was under the control of Amorim after Ten Hag's dismissal.
"I had a good first season and then I had my injury," said Malacia. "I don't want to talk too much about it, but certain things happened in my rehab.
"Ruben came in when I just got back from my injury. He gave me a couple of games, but I had come back after a year and a half. Imagine not playing for a year and a half and adapting to everything, especially in the best league in the world and playing for such a big club. It takes time.
"As a player you need to understand if you play for a big club like Manchester United, sometimes you don't get the time."
Malacia made eight appearances before joining PSV Eindhoven on loan for the rest of the 2024-25 campaign.
"Even at that time I still wasn't 100%, but it was good for me to get game time and adapting to the game," he said.
"After that period of six months, I came back in summer I thought 'OK, now it's going happen, I'm going to get a fair chance'."
Training with the under-18s
Sadly, for Malacia, his hopes were not realised.
Just before the return for pre-season training, United announced Malacia, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony would train separately from Amorim's squad and would be allowed to leave the club if a suitable offer was made.
It was never clear what Malacia had done wrong as sources say he was not disruptive or a bad influence.
As it turned out, the other four moved on, while Malacia remained in exile at Carrington, training with the under-21s, or even the under-18 and under-17 squads, at his request, to stay in shape.
"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 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.
"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.
"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?'."
Malacia returned to the fold at the end of September 2025.
He was in Amorim's squad for the 25 October encounter with Brighton, and all United's matchday squads from 24 November onwards. He came on for the final two minutes against Newcastle on Boxing Day, the last five in the return at St James' Park on 5 March and made his farewell appearance at Brighton on 24 May.
"I had a good conversation with Michael [Carrick] when he came," said Malacia. "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.
"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."
Looking to the future
Malacia is relishing being given the chance to play again.
FC Cincinnati are eighth in the Eastern Conference, with four games of the regular season left. The top nine make the play-offs, so he hopes to get a few more games under his belt before the campaign ends. He has signed on for the 2027 'sprint season', with the option to stay for 2027-28, the first to align with Europe.
He feels he has a lot to offer.
"As a football player you want to play. I'm able to do that now and consistently, so I'm happy," he said.
"This opportunity came on my path and the people I spoke with were very positive. That gave me a good feeling.
"I've played for Man Utd, I've played for Feyenoord, I've played for PSV, so I have a lot of experience. I want to bring that to the club. I want to bring my energy, I want to bring my quality. If you come into the play-offs, at the end of the day, it's all finals. The one that shows up the best that day is going to go through till the end.
"The more games for me, the better. I've been out for so long now, I just want to play as many games as possible."
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