Maddy Cusack struggled with girlfriend move, inquest told

Barker said Cusack had told her she felt “anxious” about Morgan joining United in February 2023, because of her experience of working with him at Leicester City years earlier.

The former United captain said: “She explained to me her previous experiences – that he was unprofessional, that he sold her dreams that, when she went there, weren’t real and he chatted a lot of rubbish.”

But the inquest heard Cusack did not discuss issues related to Morgan with Barker any further.

In June 2023, Barker said her colleague became “quieter” and “more reserved”, adding: “She turned up and went home. She didn’t really contribute to much.

“It was a completely different person to the Maddy that was the season before, where she was very bubbly.”

Francesca Carr, then head physiotherapist for United’s women’s team, also gave evidence on Wednesday, telling the inquest she did not have concerns about Cusack.

She told the coroner: “There were players I had more concerns about from a mental health or a coping point of view.”

But Carr did recall Cusack bursting into tears when she went to the wrong training ground.

She said: “It just wasn’t a normal reaction for me. I just thought that reaction is excessive for what happened. I know that emotional reaction is a sign.”

The inquest previously heard Cusack thought Morgan made a “personal attack” on her by not putting her in the starting line-up for matches.

Morgan, who is representing himself in the inquest, asked Carr if the “collaborative decision” not to put Cusack in the starting line-up for his first competitive game at the club was in her “best interests” because of an injury to her ankle.

Carr replied: “I think her not playing then, yes, was in her best interests.”

The inquest continues.