‘Joining Chelsea is a big mistake, am regretting it now’ – Player admits
According to Argentina legend Juan Sebastian Veron has admitted his regret at leaving Manchester United to join Chelsea.
Manchester United signed the midfielder from Lazio in 2001 but he struggled at Old Trafford before leaving for Chelsea in 2003.
However, he made only seven appearances for the Blues.
Veron told FourFourTwo: “I felt that going to Chelsea could have been a good chance for me to get a longer sequence of matches, but I shouldn’t have gone there.
“I don’t say that because of Chelsea, though. It’s nice to have a club wanting to sign you, excited that you can do something for them. To make an investment like that, the club has to believe in you and trust you.
“I actually found it tougher to live in London than Manchester because I’m from La Plata, which is quite a small city. I wish I could have stayed at United longer, as I believe I could have done things differently.
“If I’d stayed in Manchester, I think I would have had more continuity on the pitch.”
He added: “He (Ferguson) was so demanding with everybody. If you couldn’t keep up, it was clear you would have to look elsewhere. He was always forthright with me, but he had my back from day one, which was very much appreciated.
“At some points, I wasn’t able to give him everything he expected from me consistently. He got it in a few matches but not in others, and if you want to be a great player, your game has to be stable. I couldn’t deliver it at Old Trafford.”
He continued: “I was used to the Italian way, which was key for our game, but in England during that time, the physical conditioning was to play games.
“I wasn’t used to playing without an intense preparation, and it wasn’t ideal for me in the long term. As we played more matches, my performance levels dropped. I had so many up and downs: a few really good games, but other poor ones. I know that my time in English football wasn’t the best.”