Ex-player regrets leaving Old Trafford for rivals

By Oliver Holland on June 10, 2010

By Oliver Holland.

Argentine veteran Juan Sebastian Veron has spoke of his regret after leaving Old Trafford in 2003 to join Premier League rivals Chelsea. The 35 year old is currently playing for his boyhood club Estudiantes in Argentina, but has hinted that he could have been happier if he stayed and continued his career in Manchester.

“The decision to move wasn’t easy. If it was today I think I would approach it very differently,” Veron told The Guardian.

“I mean, obviously to a certain extent one makes decisions because one is fairly sure, but I think with hindsight perhaps I wouldn’t have moved because I was really comfortable at Manchester, and even the lads came to see me two or three times to talk me into staying.

I guess Mr Ferguson also has a pretty big say in who stays and who goes, but I think if the whole thing happened today I might handle it differently.”

Veron did not meet the potential that Sir Alex expected, transferring from Lazio for a hefty fee of £28.1m in 2001, and was then sold for almost half of that for £15m to Chelsea two years later. He is currently preparing for his third world cup, after representing Argentina in France 98’ and Japan & South Korea in 2002.

Are United fans unhappy Veron left when he did? What do Chelsea fans make of his comments? Please leave your opinions below…