Manchester United’s £14m man ‘systematically ignored’ on loan after just one start

To quote local media Diario de Sevilla, the Manchester United-owned midfielder was “systematically ignored” during a four-month loan spell that did more harm than good to his reputation.

Hannibal Mejbri, “lost half a year in his career” alongside fellow Premier League prodigy Alejo Veliz, the Tottenham Hotspur striker, who found it difficult to get opportunities.

Hannibal Mejbri returns to Manchester United

Hannibal has only played six times in La Liga, totaling 100 minutes.

Like Donny van de Beek, on his way back to Man United after struggling to make his mark at Eintracht Frankfurt, Ineos’ hopes of raising valuable funds through the permanent sale of Hannibal have been eradicated. Hannibal has a £14m buyout clause in his contract. One that Sevilla will surely be in no rush to unleash, especially if Quique Sanchez Flores stays on as head coach.

Antonito, the former Sevilla striker, certainly believes Hannibal was worthy of more chances to prove himself, questioning the way Sanchez Flores handled a player who arrived amid fairly high expectations.

“Hannibal, the little that was seen of him – because he didn’t play – he could have played more minutes in Sevilla”, complained Antonito, via Orgullo de Nervion.

The spell in Seville turns out to be a disaster

Still, they say first impressions count. And Hannibal really didn’t make a good one. The former Birmingham City loanee left La Liga pundit Terry Gibson rubbing shoulders with disbelief after a rather baffling debut performance in January’s 5-1 drubbing of Girona.

This, a 28-minute cameo, would eventually prove to be Hannibal’s second-longest spell on the pitch in Sevilla colours.

“Moaned by his teammates, he bullied (Adria) Pedrosa at left-back!” Gibson, a former Manchester United striker in the 1980s, said El Tel and Jon’s La Liga Weekly podcast after its debut.

“Hannibal came in on the left side of midfield and went all over the pitch. You have to admire him for wanting to get on the ball, but his positional play was all over the place. You look at it and think “(Sevilla) lost the ball now and it’s on the right wing!”.

“He was booked in the first minute and I thought he was going to be sent off. He didn’t, but every time you saw him he was moaning at a teammate and that’s the last thing they need right now.”

Sevilla will face Barcelona on the final weekend of the La Liga season next time.

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