Alejandro Garnacho is often likened to his Manchester United hero, Cristiano Ronaldo and now a new nickname has continued that.
Ever since he broke through, Alejandro Garnacho has been compared with Cristiano Ronaldo, and rightly so as the Argentine teenager idolises the Portugal captain.
Garnacho has imitated the celebrations and he also shares some interesting traits with a young Ronaldo.
For Manchester United, Garnacho is probably aside from Kobbie Mainoo the fanbase’s most prized player and he’s making his tournament debut for Argentina this summer at the Copa America.
Now though, it’s been revealed that he has an interesting nickname that shares similarities with one Ronaldo also had.
Why Alejandro Garnacho is nicknamed El Bichito
For Garnacho the past two seasons have seen countless comparisons made between him and Ronaldo, whether it be style of play or mentality.
Now though according to The Athletic, Garnacho has been branded with a Ronaldo-inspired nickname in Argentina which says a lot about his ability and how he is viewed outside of United.
Ronaldo first earned the nickname ‘El Bicho’ which means ‘The Bug’ – for his ability, albeit figuratively, to strike fear in defenders.
Now, Garnacho for all his similarities to the Manchester United legend is now nicknamed ‘El Bichito’ which translates to ‘The Little Bug’.
Garnacho was born in Spain but declared for Argentina due to his Mother, despite representing Spain at under-18 level. Something which also rubbed Spanish fans the wrong way and led to critique over his accent.
Garnacho has slowly been earning the endearment of the Argentine fanbase and this is just further proof that he’s becoming a favourite.
Why Alejandro Garnacho has struggled to be accepted by Argentinians
Garnacho’s idolisation of Ronaldo hasn’t always sat well with Argentine supporters for whom Ronaldo is the enemy of Lionel Messi.
The Athletic’s report touched on this, mentioning that: “Football is a tribal sport, and in the land of Lionel Messi, Garnacho’s devout admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo has been difficult for some Argentinians to accept.”
This is little surprise with Garnacho clearly favouring Ronaldo and Real Madrid over Barcelona and Messi, as some of his social media activity has suggested.
However, while his use of social media was seen as being immature, as he does grow up, being a father now it seems he’ll continue to gain supporters in Argentina and if he ends up having an impressive tournament, he could be their next hero.