Man Utd loan spell already a disaster, with star banished after one calamitous appearance

Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri has been made unavailable for selection at Sevilla after making just a single sub-par appearance in his loan spell.

The combative midfielder, 21, joined Sevilla on a six-month loan on January 15. Man Utd inserted several clauses into the agreement including an option to buy Sevilla can activate worth €20m.

Furthermore, a buy-back clause believed to be worth €35m that remains active until the summer of 2026 was also included. There’s also a sell-on clause present in the deal.

Sevilla fended off stiff competition from Everton for the Tunisian’s signature. The Toffees attempted a late hijack on the deal, though the latest from Spain suggests Everton caught a lucky break when missing out.

Hannibal made his debut in Sevilla’s crushing 5-1 defeat to high-flying Girona on January 21. Sevilla were already 4-1 down when Hannibal got the nod to feature from the bench, though took less than a minute to pick up his first yellow card in a Sevilla shirt.

Hannibal was then left out of Sevilla’s matchday squad entirely for the Copa del Rey defeat to Atletico Madrid four days later.

Sevilla are in the midst of a troubling campaign which has seen them bow out of Europe, out of the Copa del Rey and staring relegation from LaLiga in the face. They currently sit just one spot outside of the drop zone in 17th.

Now, according to Sevilla boss Quique Sanchez Flores, Hannibal has been made unavailable for selection and no timeframe has been put on his return.

Hannibal sidelined in brutal Sevilla statement

A statement from the ex-Watford boss on Sevilla’s official website read: “After speaking with Hannibal and seeing his first minutes in Girona, we gave him the necessary space to understand where he is, what the club means, and how we want to see him play.

“We’ve given him this period of learning so he can see things from the outside, and he’ll return to the squad like any other player, and hopefully, he’ll contribute a lot until the end of the season.

“Ultimately, these are young players who arrive at a huge club like Sevilla, in a difficult period and they need a bit of time to adapt.

“Sometimes, things are clearer from the outside than from within, and from our point of view, he needed to take a step back to see how we organise ourselves.

“We want him to apply himself, and we believe he’ll perfectly understand what we want from him.”

While it’s still early days in the loan, being made unavailable for selection is just about the worst possible way to start.

What’s more, with Sevilla fighting for survival in LaLiga, Hannibal may struggle for game-time unless he can quickly prove he’s someone that can be relied upon.

Unless there’s a dramatic change, it’s already looking unlikely Sevilla will activate their €20m option to buy.

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