Barcelona striker Memphis Depay discloses who is to blame for poor spell at Manchester United
- Depay claims his own Manchester United players did not understand why he was not being handed playing time
- The Dutch international blames former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho for his difficult spell in England
- Depay made 33 appearances for Manchester United between 2015 and 2017, scoring only twice
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Barcelona striker Memphis Depay has sensationally admitted he left Manchester United because of Jose Mourinho.
Depay recently opened up on his troubled times at Old Trafford which he says left some of his team mates baffled by his lack of playing time.
The Dutch international arrived at Old Trafford at only 21 and bore high hopes following a high profile move from PSV Eindhoven.
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At the time, Louis Van Gaal was Manchester United boss and Depay, despite all the hype, failed to properly settle in England.
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Things took a turn for the worse for him when Mourinho took over at Old Trafford, with playing time becoming increasingly limited for the winger.
Under Mourinho, Depay only made one start, and that was in a Carabao Cup match in 2016 against Northampton.
While speaking to El Periodico, the Dutchman, blamed his poor spell in England on Mourinho.
"I've thought a lot about why it went wrong. The first season I had to adapt and it didn't go well compared to my time at PSV,” he said.
"I lost a bit of confidence and I lost the confidence of [Louis] van Gaal and his staff,”
He went on to lament on the lack of playing time under Mourinho which left his own team mates baffled at times.
"[Paul] Pogba and Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] told me: "Why don't you ever play?" For me that was the confirmation that I had no chance. And I realised that I didn't want to be in a big club without playing."
"I went to his office but it changed nothing. It was a very difficult period, I felt that I was training well and the players themselves did not understand it,” he went on.
Depay went on to join Lyon in France where he reestablished himself as a top player, before Barcelona snapped him up for free in the summer.
As far as leaving England is concerned, Depay maintains he has no regrets.
"I realised [at United] that I had to start over and show everyone that I could be one of the best," he added.
Barcelona’s massive debt
Depay has since been registered as a Barcelona player following a salary cap that threatened the future of the club’s new signings.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta held a press conference recently where he admitted the club was in massive debt as he blamed the previous regime for what he termed as a “mess”
Source: YEN.com.gh
