Ander Herrera explains his move to Paris Saint-Germain, despite his intention to stay at Old Trafford.
Ander Herrera has revealed he did not want to leave Manchester United last summer but said his decision was fuelled by “disagreements” with the club’s board.
Herrera left Old Trafford after five years to sign for Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent after contract talks with United broke down.
The midfielder insists he is happy in Paris but concedes he would have liked to stay in Manchester much longer.
“When I look back a year ago, my intention was not to leave Manchester United,” Herrera told ESPN.
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“I had some different opinions with the board but I respect them. I respect them a lot. They do things for Manchester United and I disagree with the people who say they don’t. They really suffer when things don’t go well and they really fight to bring Manchester United back.
“I disagreed with some of the decisions they made but this happens in football. In happens in every company.
“Apart from that, I respect them. I had a great relationship with Ed Woodward and with the owners when they came so I have nothing to complain about with them.”
PSG have been crowned champions of the Ligue 1 in Herrera’s first season at the club after all sporting events were in the country until September because of the coronavirus crisis.
It is the first league title of Ander Herrera’s career but the 30-year-old, who has played 18 games in all competitions this campaign, said he has not celebrated the triumph as he would have done normally.
“To be honest, I didn’t celebrate it,” Herrera said. “I love football but I love to play football and win trophies on the pitch.
“Of course, it’s good to have one more title but it’s not the same. I wanted to celebrate with our fans and my teammates.
“I haven’t won a league title since I was a professional because in Manchester we had the possibility to win some trophies but not the Premier League, so I was looking forward to it but we couldn’t do it on the pitch.
“I think it’s well deserved because we were 12 points ahead of Marseille but it is what it is.
“I hope we can fight for the cup titles that we still have to play on the pitch with fans in the stadium and let’s see if we can also fight for the Champions League. To be honest, it’s quite sad to win my first league title like this.”
