How Manchester United celebrated the FA Cup: Speeches, IShowSpeed and Sir Jim's handshake (2024)

There were a few sore heads the morning after the night before at the Marriott Hotel in Mayfair, where Manchester United celebrated their victory in Saturday’s FA Cup final.

The party went on until 1.30am in the hotel’s ballroom, long after Rasmus Hojlund, Scott McTominay, Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans had got up on stage and serenaded those in attendance with a rendition of ‘We’ve seen it all, we’ve won the lot’.

It was not the wildest night, given it came at the end of a long and challenging season and ahead of a busy summer, but some were still going in the hotel bar until 3am. And as one figure close to the squad, who like all of those spoken to for this article has asked to be kept anonymous to protect relationships, put it, it was a party they had long needed.

The emotional release of United’s success was evident upon the sound of the final whistle at Wembley, when the embattled Erik ten Hag was hoisted up in the air by his lieutenant Lisandro Martinez.

It was not the only touching embrace between the manager and his players. Ten Hag simultaneously shared a symbolic moment with both Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo, the two academy graduates that he promoted to become FA Cup-winning goalscorers, and there was a long, affectionate conversation with Luke Shaw.

Everyone becomes a body language expert in such moments, especially those of us on the outside viewing from a distance, and there is a danger of making far too much of them.

But equally, it felt telling that whereas Sir Jim Ratcliffe embraced Pep Guardiola and leant in for a brief word as he made his way past the Royal Box, Ten Hag received just a smile, a hand on the shoulder and a handshake.

Yet it can only help Ten Hag’s cause that, as one source close to the dressing room observed, the game played out exactly how he said it would in his pre-match briefings to the players. Ten Hag correctly predicted the way that City would set up and his plan of playing balls over the top of their high line worked to a tee.

Perhaps word of that eventually reached Ratcliffe, who joined the players’ post-match celebrations in the dressing room despite the uncertainty over Ten Hag’s future and was pictured with an arm around assistant Steve McClaren.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe was in the dressing room with the #mufc squad on Saturday 🏆 pic.twitter.com/V2kqlXWNGE

— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) May 27, 2024

The festivities continued at the Marriott later that evening, in a room full of bear-hugging, back-slapping and hand-shaking.

Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford did not attend, judging it to be a night for the players and staff rather than the owners and were happy to leave them to celebrate their success in peace. The only senior figure with INEOS ties to be present was newly-appointed technical director Jason Wilcox, who stayed a short while before taking his leave.

But the United hierarchy was still represented by his predecessor Darren Fletcher, head of negotiations Matt Hargreaves, deputy football director Andy O’Boyle and chief operating officer Collette Roche.

But the headline act was a speech by Ten Hag, who took the microphone to congratulate the club’s staff and thank their families for their support through the highs and lows of a tumultuous campaign.

To his players, the message was that given he demands the absolute maximum from them on the pitch, they should celebrate just as hard that night.

That earned a cheer, but not the loudest one. That came after the United manager illustrated the calibre of opponent they had faced that day. Manchester City were arguably the most difficult opponent in world football. They had not lost since December. But today, Ten Hag added, United had beaten them.

Bruno Fernandes stood alongside his manager throughout then gave a shorter speech, joking that he did not want to turn the evening into a press conference.

Fernandes thanked his team-mates for listening to him — especially given his reputation as one of the more vocal captains in United’s recent history — and those who had supported the players throughout the season.

Many of the videos circulating on social media during the event had one figure at the centre of them: IShowSpeed, or ‘Speed’ for short.

The American YouTuber was invited as a guest of Garnacho, having previously appeared with him on the Twitch streams of the winger’s younger brother Roberto. Amid the celebrations, Roberto found a moment to tweet: “Bro really got speed in a United after party”.

Earlier that day at Wembley, Speed had become involved in a verbal altercation with one United supporter due to his hyperactive reactions to events on the pitch, all while filming himself.

He was a good deal more popular in the Marriott ballroom, however. Many of the players, their families and friends — mostly part of the younger generation — wanted photos taken with Speed. As much as that baffled some of the attendees, only Mainoo rivalled him for selfie requests.

While some partied into the night, many of those attending took their leave before 11pm, emotionally, mentally and physically tired from the season’s exertions and conscious of their commitments this summer.

Eleven United players have been called up by their national team squads for the June internationals to date, with the European Championship and Copa America to come. Others have some free time to enjoy. Antony, Raphael Varane and Mason Mount took the opportunity to attend the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, as did Diogo Dalot despite being named in Portugal’s Euro 2024 squad.

One of those to depart early was Casemiro, who shared a photo of himself on a private jet with his wife and two children while celebrations were still ongoing at the Marriott. The 32-year-old attended the after-party and was present for Ten Hag and Fernandes’ speeches before taking off for his waiting flight.

That came after he pulled out of United’s match-day squad for the final with a hamstring injury, having felt tightness while warming up in the dressing room. The previous day, The Athletic reported that Casemiro was due to be left out of United’s starting line-up, having not trained as part of the XI during the week.

Despite being left out of Brazil’s squad for this summer’s Copa America, Casemiro felt unable to risk aggravating the injury further. Whether that was the last act of Casemiro’s Old Trafford career remains to be seen. Links with a summer move to the Saudi Pro League persist.

Even so, and as you would expect, his signature was at the bottom of the open letter that the United squad sent to supporters to thank them for the backing they have received throughout a difficult campaign.

The idea was put forward by the club’s media department and carried out in consultation with Ten Hag and Fernandes, and the United manager signed the letter too.

“We understand the sacrifices that you have to make to show this level of support,” it read. “It does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. We know this season overall has not been good enough and we make no excuses. But we ended it in the best way possible, celebrating a trophy all together.

“We want more days like yesterday. We are excited for the future here. There is so much that we have to achieve together. We will fight to bring Manchester United the success that this special club deserves.”

Not every United squad member will be part of that future. The manager may not be either, depending on the outcome of this week’s review of the season. But for one night at least, at the end of one of the most trying campaigns, Ten Hag and his players could celebrate.

Additional reporting: Adam Leventhal and Mario Cortegana

(Top photo: Getty Images)

Mark Critchley is a football writer for The Athletic, covering Manchester United and Manchester City. Mark joined after five years as The Independent's northern football correspondent. Follow Mark on Twitter @mjcritchley