Back to the Manchester United Newsfeed

Ex-Man Utd's Matthew Monaghan had been abused by Barry Bennell at Crewe

Matthew Monaghan had the football world at his feet. He had been signed by Manchester United, captained Wales at three different age groups and likened, as a ball-playing centre half, to Kevin Ratcliffe and Alan Hansen.

But Monaghan lasted only two months as a professional, unable to cope with the crippling anxiety caused by more than three years of sexual abuse at the hands of convicted paedophile Barry Bennell.

He escaped Bennell’s clutches when he moved from Crewe Alexandra to United at 14, but only now will his time at Old Trafford make sense to those he encountered during five years there.