Mason Mount is having a disastrous debut season at Manchester United. His miseries seemingly peaked in the Red Devils’ embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. It was also, incidentally, the Englishman’s first start in a Premier League match after nearly six months – only for him to fail to make any impact.
Mount got the nod in his natural no.10 role after Bruno Fernandes missed out on the game due to an injury. He was determined to make an impact and get on the scoresheet, with his only goal for the Red Devils coming in the 1-1 draw against Brentford in late March 2024.
In fact, the 24-year-old looked quite confident ahead of the match even though United were forced to play a makeshift centre-back partnership of Casemiro and Jonny Evans and missed many players due to injuries.
Just before kick-off, the cameras panned on the Englishman looking very happy to be back playing in London. The cameras were able to capture Mount producing a rather strange expression having his tongue out touching the side of his lip. He was able to notice the attention was on him and just beamed a big smile before concentrating on the task at hand.
A lot of fans noticed that this might be a cheeky tribute that Mount tried to pay to Ronaldinho. It is similar the popular moment concerning the Brazilian winger when he was at AC Milan.
During a Champions League Round of 16 clash against Manchester United in 2010, Ronaldinho tried to charge himself up by rubbing his hands together and using his tongue to lick his lips in anticipation for the battle ahead.
The ex-Barcelona winger actually made it a habit of doing this much before that particular moment in an AC Milan shirt became viral. He did it often just before Brazil’s matches, almost as a strange ritual that nobody seems to have an explanation for. Like many other current footballers, Mount was also mesmerized by what he saw from Ronaldinho when he was growing up.
In fact, the Englishman revealed to Chelsea’s official media before the 2022 Qatar World Cup about Ronaldinho’s iconic goal against England in the 2002 edition being among his earliest World Cup memories, noting: “I know the big goals from 2002, like Ronaldinho scoring against England in the quarter-finals, but I don’t really remember it because I was only three years old at the time.”
Unfortunately, Mount’s decision to pay homage to the Brazilian legend failed miserably. He was unable to influence Manchester United or save them from the drubbing to Crystal Palace. It’s not like he was the worst player on the pitch, in fact, he showcased decent energy and worked hard defensively, but Mount couldn’t create a single goal-scoring chance or test Dean Henderson with any shots on target.
To compile to his troubles, the Manchester United no.7 was also substituted late in the second half to cap off a truly miserable evening.
Even though Mount has had a forgettable debut campaign at Old Trafford, all he can do is look forward and try to improve himself. He has four more matches in the 23/24 season to try and end it on a high note by helping his side clinch the FA Cup title.
The 24-year-old is almost guaranteed to not be in the England squad for Euro 2024. What he can do is work his socks off in the summer to come back a more efficient playmaker for the Red Devils next season and make his doubters eat their words.