Man Utd midfielder's entourage 'in disbelief' over his treatment at loan club

Hannibal Mejbri’s loan move to Sevilla has not gone as planned (Picture: Getty)

Hannibal Mejbri’s entourage are said to be ‘in disbelief’ over the midfielder’s shoddy treatment at Sevilla following his temporary switch from Manchester United.

After making just five Premier League appearances in the first half of this season, Mejbri completed a January loan move to Sevilla with a view to securing regular minutes and gaining experience in a top European league.

But Mejbri has endured a miserable opening two months in Seville, making just four appearances in La Liga, amounting to a total of just 89 minutes of action under Quique Sanchez Flores.

According to Spanish outlet Estadio Deportivo, Sevilla brought Mejbri in to fill the void left by Ivan Rakitic’s departure for the Saudi Pro League, but the youngster’s performances have fallen well below expectations.

The report states that Mejbri’s inner circle are at a loss as to why Mejbri is not being selected by Flores and simply ‘cannot believe’ the lack of game-time he has received.

Mejbri’s entourage are convinced his development has actually gone backwards since leaving United for Sevilla in the winter and feel he will return to Old Trafford worse off from the experience.

United signed Mejbri for a fee of €5million (£4.3m) from Monaco’s academy back in 2019 and the Tunisia international quickly settled into life in Manchester, excelling in the Red Devils’ youth teams.

The Tunisia midfielder has only accumulated 89 minutes for Sevilla (Picture: Getty)

A loan move to Birmingham City followed and Mejbri enjoyed his time with the Championship outfit, making 41 appearances in all competitions for the Blues across the 2022/23 season.

Mejbri had hoped to kick on at United after returning last summer, but Erik ten Hag made it clear the Tunisian’s playing time would be limited and encouraged him to move to Sevilla when the opportunity arose in January.

While Sevilla have an €18m (£15m) option to buy Mejbri outright, they have no intention of making the move permanent and the midfielder will return to his parent club in the summer.

The former France Under-17 international signed a new contract with United before joining Sevilla on loan, tying him to the Premier League giants until the summer of 2025.

Ten Hag encouraged Mejbri to join Sevilla in January (Picture: Getty)

Shortly after Mejbri’s arrival in Sevilla, reports circulated in the Spanish media of a training ground bust-up between the midfielder and his new team-mate, Mariano, but the club were quick to play down the rumours.

‘I think things have been blown out of proportion a little. We are very excited about Hannibal,’ Sevilla’s president Jose Maria del Nido Carrasco told ABC at the time.

‘The sports management chose him, he is one of the signings from the January window that excites us the most and we are convinced that Hannibal is going to make it at Sevilla.

‘I feel like everything has its processes. He’s only been here a couple of weeks.

‘It’s a new country, a new culture, a new city, a different way of training, a different coaching style.

‘We are super excited about Hannibal and convinced he is going to play a lot and breakthrough here at our club.’

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