Matteo Darmian calls Manchester United an ‘amazing’ experience, would give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a ‘long-term contract’ and insists Paul Pogba ‘really cares’.
Darmian played just 92 times for United between 2015 and 2019, but the Parma full-back made it clear he would never forget his spell at Old Trafford.
“[United were] an amazing adventure that stays with you for the rest of your life,” he told The Guardian.
Matteo Darmian calls Manchester United an ‘amazing’ experience, would give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a ‘long-term contract’ and insists Paul Pogba ‘really cares’.
Darmian played just 92 times for United between 2015 and 2019, but the Parma full-back made it clear he would never forget his spell at Old Trafford.
“[United were] an amazing adventure that stays with you for the rest of your life,” he told The Guardian.
“I’ll be honest and say that I remember my first game for United being an incredible emotion.
“I felt like a child. Old Trafford is something fantastic, there’s a reason that it’s called the theatre of dreams.
“My debut was perfect because we beat Tottenham at home and I heard the fans screaming my name: a wonderful feeling.
“I felt a lot of pride but also the responsibility to play for one of the best clubs in the world.
“When you play for Manchester United you just have one objective: to win as much as possible. It’s too big of a club to think in any different way.
“We felt a responsibility to win and there was the pressure to go back to a certain level.
“But that’s normal for a top club and the directors never made it a burden: everyone wanted to win the Premier League, it’s normal when you are at Manchester United.”
The 30-year-old played just three times under Solskjaer, but he only had praise for the coach.
“I can only speak well about Solskjær, believe me. I would give him a long-term contract.
“He’s a very prepared coach and Manchester United has started this project, this journey, with many young players, many British players and they will continue with this project.
“Because of the person I got to know, I hope Solskjær has success at the club.”
Darmian also assured Pogba’s heart lay with United, despite persistent speculation of a return to Juventus.
“Paul is my friend and I have an excellent relationship with him. First of all: we are talking about a real champion here, a great footballer, but even they can have some periods when they don’t do as well [as they would like].
“The real problem with Pogba at United, I think, was the price the club paid for him and that conditioned the way people perceived him.
“There has been a lot of unjustified criticism towards Pogba, for example that he doesn’t work hard enough, but he always gave his best, I can assure you, in every training session.
“In my opinion his performances were good in recent years, they talk about him too negatively [in the UK].
“Did I see Pogba unhappy or willing to leave? No, I honestly didn’t see him sad or unhappy, quite the opposite, for all the time I was in Manchester, Paul was absolutely happy with his decision to go back there.
“He really cares about doing well at Manchester United.”